Mass protest mar deployment of Osun resident commissioner

From Seyi Ojelade, Ibadan

A human rights group in Nigeria, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has strongly condemned the redeployment of Osun state Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) to Oyo state ahead of 2015 general elections by the Professor Attairu Jega led-Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC),describing Akeju as Ebola virus in the electoral body that must be jointly stamped out of the body.

The group also said it has concluded arrangement to team up with other stakeholders in Oyo state to stage a seven(7) days marathon mass protest and rallies across the State for onward redeployment of

Ambassador Akeju back to the national headquarters of the Commission for lesser assignment till the expiration of his tenure in June 2015,urging the lovers of free and fair elections in a democracy and

progressive minded people of Oyo state to support the crusade against the redeployment of Akeju from the State in order to have peaceful conduct of the election in 2015 in the State.

The Executive Chairman of the Centre, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, in a signed statement made available to newsmen in Lagos yesterday, before the members of the group left Lagos State to Ibadan, the Oyo state capital for an emergence meeting of the group with its members in the state over their planned seven days mass protest against the immediate redeployment of Akeju back to Abuja,called on Professor Jega to rescind its decision over the issue without further delay.

It would be recalled that the INEC recently directed all RECs to con­clude all handing and tak­ing over formalities by yesterday, December 31, 2014 and the redeployment of Ambassador Akeju has been attended by an uproar in the state capital since the news of Akejus’ redeployment filtered to the state few days ago.

Comrade Sulaiman, who applauded those who have been in the vanguard of rejecting Akeju from the state, described them as genuine progressive citizens of Nigeria and lover of free, fair and transparent elections in our nurturing democracy.