See How Obanikoro soiled his hands in Ondo Election

 

A stakeholder meeting called by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Ondo State, almost degenerated into fisticuffs on Tuesday as the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Akin Orebiyi, hinted that the commission had a report which showed that the Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, had “his hands soiled” during the election .

Commenting on the conduct of politicians, Orebiyi said, “We are aware of how Obanikoro even soiled his hands obstructing the electoral process. You can quote me anywhere. You can quote me anywhere…”

Members of the PDP at the meeting were angered by the statement, saying they took exceptions to the assertions of the REC.

But Orebiyi, not done yet, said, “One of our officers was almost lynched by the people because they mistook him for Obanikoro. We know what happened and you can quote me anywhere.”

The attendant rowdiness saw members of the PDP and the Labour Party almost engaged in a fight as one trying to outdo the other in a shouting match.

As soon the dust settled, Orebiyi added, “Let the Minister of State for Defence defend himself let him defend himself.”

He noted that politicians did not only put the lives of the electoral officials at risk, but also forced them to collect money.

“One of them brought and showed us N8,000 he was forced to collect,” he said.

Orebiyi said that it appeared that politicians were not learning from the process.

While commenting on the role of the Minister of State for Defence, Tunyan said Obanikoro as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had the right to visit any part of the country with the full compliment of security for his protection.

He said the allegation that he brought fake soldiers for the election was unfounded, given that he had his military escort when he visited.