Indicted INEC Staff Members Were Not Suspended, Director Says

By Ige Olugbenga

The Independent National Electoral Commission has refuted media reports that it has suspended the 202 staff members indicted for election malpractices by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s report.

INEC’s Director of Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja today (Monday).

Osaze-Uzzi said the media report that the affected staff had been suspended by the commission was false.

He said there was no way the commission would have suspended the staff members based on the allegation until they were properly investigated.

Osaze-Uzzi stated that the commission was still in the process of investigating the allegation and interviewing all affected in line with the principle of fair hearing.

He said that some of the staff members involved were still at the commission on Monday for investigation.

The director, however, said the commission is trying to expedite the investigation, adding that the decision would be made known to the public.