MC Oluomo Vs INEC: Labour Party Begs New Lagos CP To Keep State REC Under Watch

The Labour Party (LP) has appealed to the new Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa to keep watch over the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)in Lagos, Olusegun Agbaje.

The party requested that Agbaje’s activities should be put under check by the CP to avoid any form of electoral “subversion.”

The Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokade made the appeal when he was featured on The 2023 Verdict, Channels Television’s special election programme on Tuesday, Naija News learnt.

He called on the new police boss in the state to check any form of excesses by the INEC REC, noting that the change of police commissioner in the state was a consolation.

He said with Owohunwa’s appointment as new police commissioner, “whatever Mr Agbaje is preparing to do to subvert the election can be effectively checked and that gives us some form of hope.”

Osuntokun insists that the party kicks totally against the planned involvement of the Chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo in the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials within Lagos State in the February 25 and March 11 polls.

His emphasis comes barely 24 hours after the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday gave a restrained order to the electoral body not to work with the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, headed by the transport union leader, MC Oluomo, who is an ally of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State.

However, Osuntokun, who faulted Agbaje for supporting the engagement of MC Oluomo for the distribution of election materials across the 20 local government areas of the state said “Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.”

The Labour Party chieftain continued saying the commission should make sure it doesn’t engage persons with any ties to any political party to distribute election materials.

Osuntokun said “This kind of thing baffles me that somebody like MC Oluomo, with all the negative associations with one of the presidential candidates, and it (INEC) sees nothing in going ahead in engaging essentially to distribute ballot papers. It defies the logic that anybody will think that nothing is wrong with that.

“It is like having a cat to guard a rat. I wonder the logic in that,” adding that “If you want people to have confidence in your election, you do everything possible to make all the arrangements as open and as non-discriminatory as possible.”