Ibrahim, INEC disagree on alleged demand for bribe
Jimoh Ibrahim
Factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimoh Ibrahim, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of demanding a bribe before accepting his candidacy.
Ibrahim, who spoke in Abuja yesterday, said he was disturbed that the commission had failed to recognise him despite the court’s ruling directing it to do so.
He alleged that INEC’s Acting Legal Adviser, Mrs. O.O. Babalola demanded 1million to act on the court order.The factional candidate said he had petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari on the alleged bribery request and also reported the matter to the INEC.
He said: “We had a judgment directing the INEC to collect our document for the governorship election in Ondo State, but it was not obeyed. We feel that this is an act of lawlessness that is capable of creating anarchy.
“We went to court where the INEC was also part of the proceedings and they undertook to obey the judgment. Now we had a judgment that was specific, directing that it should accept me as the candidate. The judgment was served on the electoral body which claimed to be studying it.”
However, in a swift reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said Ibrahim’s allegation was uncharitable and ungodly.
Oyekanmi said: “It is not true that Mrs. Babalola demanded one million dollar bribe from Ibrahim. Two other officials of INEC witnessed the encounter between Mrs. Babalola and Ibrahim, who brought a copy of his judgment and wanted to impress it on the commission to collect. But we told him that we already had a copy of the judgment. It is uncharitable and ungodly of a businessman of Ibrahim’s stature to make this kind of allegation”
Ibrahim had emerged as candidate of the Ali Modu-Sheriff’s faction of the party in late August. In his ruling, Justice Okon Abang ordered that Ibrahim be made to replace Eyitayo Jegede, the candidate selected by the Ahmed Markafi faction of the PDP.
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3 Comments
This is exactly what is scary aboutthriwing malicious damaging allegations at people without due process or decorum through the public media or fanfare. Now based on thus allegation by Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, do we demand the INEC personel ti resign or step aside while the corruption agency’s commence investigation and eventually charge her to a court if competent jurisdiction.
God bless you. Moreover, the PMB administration will expect INEC to obey and implement this decision which hurts PDP to the advantage of APC while they ignore other Court orders which are not in the government’s preferred interest. They will also not send the DSS after Okon Abang whom the Court if Appeal thoroughly lambasted as giving judgments which amounted to a ‘rape of democracy’ because those judgments favoured the APC’s interest.
But wait a minute; was it not the Supreme Court that ruled that candidates are the responsibility of the political parties? How come a lower court is disregarding this ruling or could a lower court overturn the Supreme court in Nigeria? These precisely are the issues that make many a Nigerian somewhat angry at the Judiciary that the CJN complains about. There just seems to be no standard and ethics at all.
We will review and take appropriate action.