The appointment of the Director General (DG) of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, into the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation has been described as a violation of the NOA Act by the All Progress Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation.
The APC said the action by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) violates Part 2 Section 6 (2) of the NOA Act, which says its DG should be “non-partisan”.
A statement issued by APC Campaign Director of Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, condemned the inclusion of Omeri as a member of the media and publicity sub-committee of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation.
He knocked it as being in poor taste and a contravention of public service rules.
The publication of the name of Omeri in newspapers with other members of the committee is insensitive and reckless, Shehu insisted, which is an “unprecedented step of co-opting public servants of any cadre into a political party’s campaign structure.”
He argued that this amounts to making Omeri partisan in order to pollute the reliability and appeal of public service.
The APC urged Jonathan to ensure that Omeri is dropped from the committee without delay.
“In this election season, the helmsman of the NOA by the law establishing it, should be in the forefront of the campaign for peaceful and credible election and not to be seen to be collaborating with the ruling PDP,” the statement stressed.