The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has come under fire for liking a tweet criticizing Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
WITHIN NIGERIA reported on Wednesday that INEC was heavily chastised for liking a social media post that referred to Obi as an opportunist.
This was after a news publication shared content of the son of the late legendary singer, Fela Anikulapo, describing the former governor of Anambra State as an ‘Opportunist’.
Seun, Fela’s son, stated that Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), is his preferred candidate.
Seun also stated that even if Sowore wins the 2023 election, he will be unable to function effectively due to the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress (APC) dominance in key positions in the country.
However, in response to INEC’s action, Diran Onifade, the Head of Obi-Datti Media, slammed INEC in a statement, saying the electoral body should be neutral in political matters.
Diran said;
It’s not a hidden fact that in morality and law the election umpire, INEC should not only be neutral but must strive to prevent anything real or imagined to suggest otherwise.
Obi-Datti Media takes serious exception to INEC liking a post by a partisan person who has chosen a candidate to support.
We expect the commission to explain to the concerned public who are looking up to them to be above board why they had to show such a level of obvious bias.
Obi-Datti Media office notes that even if somebody in the Commission’s office wants to be biased, the law has denied them that because of the moral standards being expected of them.
We expect INEC to come clean on this issue as it’s capable of eroding public confidence in the commission to conduct a free, fair, and transparent election. INEC should publicly apologize to the high-flying LP Presidential standard bearer.
Meanwhile, it was reported yesterday that the electoral body responded to the action by stating that it has no preferred presidential candidate or political party in the 2023 elections.
INEC stated that it was aware of the Twitter incident and has launched an investigation into it.
The electoral umpire reiterated its neutrality and assured Nigerians that the 2023 general election would be free and fair.