A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to discharge his duties fearlessly. He recently charged the new INEC chairman to apply rules without favour and refuse to bow to any form of intimidation and harassment by the politicians.
In a press statement issued in Osogbo, Oyintiloye revealed that Amupitan needs to demonstrate a high level of courage and integrity in the face of pressure from politicians, especially opposition parties, ahead of the off-cycle and general elections.
According to him, Amupitan will justify the confidence reposed in him by resisting any bullying attempt from opposition politicians, who might try to blackmail INEC to rig valid electoral processes.
He said that the losers in past elections will keep undermining INEC’s efforts for their own personal gain.
“The commission, under Amupitan’s leadership, must act in line with the established rules and regulations, as well as acceptable standard practice, to avoid committing errors in the face of pressure from politicians.
All eyes are on the new INEC boss, and I want to advise him to stay focused and resist all forms of pressure that could undermine the integrity of the commission.
Amupitan must ignore all forms of negative criticism and ensure he abides by the laid-down rules and regulations for the conduct of free and fair elections in the country.
Those who lost elections will continue to undermine the efforts of the Commission in ensuring credible elections in the country for their own personal gain, but the INEC boss must fear no one. He must apply the rules without favour,” he said.
Praising President Bola Tinubu for appointing the right man for the role, the ex-lawmaker noted that the choice of Amupitan as the new INEC boss was sensible.
He concluded by saying that Amupitan’s appointment by the President proves that he has what it takes to sanitise the country’s electoral processes once and for all.
