Okoye urged Nigerians to stop linking INEC with MC Oluomo, saying the commission’s commitment was to the individual drivers.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified that it did not make a deal with Lagos transport union leader, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo.
INEC National Commissioner and head of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, told NAN on Friday that the commission made contracts for logistics delivery for the forthcoming general elections in Lagos State with individual bus drivers.
Okoye was reacting to concerns raised on the alleged plan by INEC to engage the Lagos Park Management Committee under MC Oluomo leadership for transportation of election materials and personnel in the forthcoming elections in the state.
He said the role of the road transport union was to assist to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the commission and the drivers to be engaged for election duty.
He urged Nigerians to stop linking INEC with an individual, saying the commission’s commitment was to the individual drivers.
“This commission has contracts with individual drivers. The National Union of Road Transport Workers has no vehicles. So, we signed individual contracts with all the persons who are going to provide vehicles for us.
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“For this election, we are going to hire at least 138,000 vehicles. We are going to hire over 4,000 boats and we are going to hire over 8,000 motorcycles.
“We are going to sign individual contracts with all these people. The only thing the road transport union workers do for us is that we have what we call a Memorandum of Understanding with them so that if for instance any of the members goes AWOL, they will help us track the person down.
“If somebody does not report on time, they will help us find out why the person has not reported on time. But our contract is with individual drivers,” he said.
Okoye urged Nigerians to stop linking INEC with MC Oluomo, saying the commission’s commitment was to the individual drivers.
“The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State has never said that we are going to work with the individual you have mentioned.
“What he said was that if there’s no NURTW in Lagos, but Park Management Committee, we are going to work with the committee because we cannot be seen to be breaking the law.
“So, that is the issue. People should banish this whole idea of linking the commission to an individual.
“Our commitment is to the individual drivers that are going to sign a contract with and we are also going to take oath of neutrality and oath of allegiance to the commission, and that is where we stand on the matter,” he said.
