The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must remove the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs. Babalola Oluwatoyin, ahead of next month’s governorship election.

The opposition party said a new REC “with a non-partisan official with no previous association with Ondo State” be brought in. The Ondo PDP said the removal of Mrs. Babalola would restore public confidence in the Commission’s integrity.

In a letter addressed to INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Ondo PDP Secretary, Oluseye Olujimi, said as Governor Seyi Makinde earlier warned that the party would continue to protest until its request is met should not be taken as an empty threat.

The letter accused Yakubu of not doing diligent check before declaring that Babalola did not hail from Ondo State.

According to the letter: “The rational thing for an unbiased umpire to do would have been to use the Ondo election as an opportunity to begin to work at gradually regaining voters’ confidence as well as restoring INEC’s lost integrity.

“Replacing the Ondo REC should not be a change too difficult for you to effect, if you sincerely, genuinely and intentionally care about restoring the faith of democracy-loving Nigerians in your organisation INEC.

“We would like to plead with you, to use the authority of your exalted office, to prevent whatever acts of commission or omission that could lead to anarchy and major threats to communal peace, or worse still, unhealthy political developments capable of derailing the country’s nascent democracy.

“It is only by handling the Ondo election in the most professional manner, in accordance with global best practices, devoid of any trace of preferential treatment or concealment of any kind to favour any of the contestants and their parties, that your organisation can claim to have done commendably.”

The Nation