President Muhammadu Buhari
nominee as a Resident Electoral Commissioner from Osun State, Raheem
Muideen Olalekan Tuesday told the Senate that he was a Card Carrying
member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Answering
questions from Senators when he appeared before the Senator Kabiru Gaya,
APC, Kano South led Senate Committee for the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), Muideen Olalekan said, “I am a member of
APC. I am a member of APC and I contested for local government
chairmanship in 2013.”
The 46-year-old academic told the committee that he is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In
spite of efforts of the committee members to help him with leading
questions on his membership being old and not in posesson of the party
membership card, the nominee still maintained his loyalty to the APC.
His
acceptance as APC member, however, confirmed a petition against his
nomination by one Oyebade Adebisi Abideen, alleging that he has openly
supported a particular political party which negates part of the
constitutional criteria for INEC Commissioner.
Muideen who was
taken off-guard by the last-minute surface of the petition against his
nomination failed repeatedly to respond favourably to questions that may
have offered him a soft landing as the Senators repeatedly sought to
make him explain his membership of the party.
To help him out,
the Senate committee asked the nominee to return in two days for more
interrogation on his qualification or otherwise for his job.
In
his contribution, a member of the Committee, Senator Michael Opeyemi
Bamidele (APC) Ekiti Central said that the committee cannot be seen to
be endorsing a violation of the Nigerian constitutional which clearly
provides that occupant of the office of the INEC Commissioner must be
apolitical.
On his part, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, APC, Kano
Central had sought to know if the nominee was a former member of the APC
and when he last appeared at her function?
While answering
questions from the Senate Committee, the nominee faltered severally as
he tried to remove himself from the allegation.
The nominee who
claimed that he left politics in 2013 to return to school and study
psychology at advance level but when accosted with pictures of his
campaign in 2017 in support of a particular governorship aspirant,
however explained that the group named “tiwa tiwa” was a band of members
of multi-political leanings but favourably disposed to the candidature
of its financier who belonged to a pool party.
He said, “I am a
member of APC. I am a member of APC and I contested for local government
chairmanship in 2013. In 2015, I left politics and moved on to the
University of Ibadan to go and study psychology.
“I had the card
then when I had the intention of contesting for election. On the
question, if I was a DG of a contestant, Yes I was DG of a contestant in
2017.”
Members of the panel could not reconcile the claim that he left politics in 2013 but led the campaign of Al candidate in 2017.
On
his part, Chairman of the Committee , Senator Kabiru Gaya asked him
what the term “DG” stand for and if he was part of the campaign, he
responded thus: “Director-General, Yes, I was part of the campaign.”
Speaking
after the session, Senator Kabiru Gaya said: “Today the committee in
INEC meet today and we’re able to meet the three committee sent by the
President and referred to us in the committee to screen and report back
to the Senate.
“All the nominee were invited to the committee and we were able to screen them.
“They
were asked questions and they answered to the best of their ability,
there were no petition for the two of the candidates Mr. Johnson Siriken
and Alhaji Aminu Guram.
“There was a petition against Alhaji
Muideen Olalekan from Osun state based on constitutional provision of
the Act which said the President should nominate present Commissioners
of INEC of people of integrity and good character and they should not be
a card-carrying member of any political party.
“For Mr. Olalekan
there was a petition against him that he is a member of a political
party and that he has ran through campaigns and that he has registered
as a member of a political party.
“We asked him questions he
defended himself to the best he could, there is still more to ask from
him we have given him two days to come back to us for more discussions,
Gaya stated.
Asked if the committee would refer the matter to the
Department of State Security for Independent investigation, Gaya said
that the committee will be guided by the Constitution and referred him
back to the Senate for further screening.
Recall that President
Muhammadu Buhari had last week, written to the Senate, requesting for
the screening and subsequent confirmation of three Resident Electoral
Commissioners.
The letter read during plenary by the President of
the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, written and signed by President Buhari
is dated 28th October, 2019 and entitled, “Request for Confirmation of
the Appointment of Three State Resident Electoral Commissioners for the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC was received 28th
October 2019 by the Office of the President of the Senate.
The
letter read, “Pursuant to Paragraph 14(3)(a) of the Third Schedule to
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999( as amended), I
hereby write to request the confirmation by the Senate, the appointment
of the following three (3) nominees as Resident Electoral Commissioners
of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In the
letter, President Buhari nominated three state Resident Electoral
Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The nominees were Umar Muktar Gajiram (Borno), Alalibo Sinikiem Johnson (Bayelsa) and Raheem Muideen Olalekan (Osun).
The
three nominees as RECs were referred to the Senate Committee on INEC
chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya, All Progressives Congress, APC, Kano
South to report back at Plenary in one week.
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