PAN-IGBO YOUTH ASSEMBLY (PIYA) DEMANDS IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF INEC NATIONAL COMMISSIONER, KEN UKEAGU ...GIVES INEC SEVEN DAYS TO ACT -

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PAN-IGBO YOUTH ASSEMBLY (PIYA)

TEXT OF WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE

SUBJECT: IGBO YOUTHS DEMAND IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF INEC NATIONAL COMMISSIONER, KEN UKEAGU, GIVES INEC SEVEN DAYS TO ACT

– ANNOUNCES MASSIVE PAN-IGBO PROTESTS TO OCCUPY INEC OFFICES ACROSS THE SOUTH EAST AND HEADQUARTERS IN ABUJA

The Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly (IYA), which is the umbrella body of all youth associations in Igbo-speaking areas of Nigeria, is today making an unequivocal demand for the immediate removal of Mr. Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu, the INEC National Commissioner overseeing Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi States. The growing controversy surrounding his conduct and partisan activities has become too serious for INEC to treat with administrative silence. The credibility of elections is founded on public confidence in the neutrality of those entrusted with their conduct. Where an electoral official is accused of compromising that neutrality, the responsible thing to do is to remove him from the sensitive assignment pending a thorough investigation. This is not persecution. It is a necessary safeguard for democratic sanity.

The revelations that Mr. Ukeagu has been leaking sensitive INEC documents and confidential electoral information to politicians and opposition interests constitute an extremely serious matter. Electoral information is not the private property of any commissioner, political party or candidate. It belongs within the institutional safeguards of INEC. Any allegation that such information has been made available to partisan interests demands an immediate action by the Commission. The security of electoral information is fundamental to the integrity of the entire electoral process.

What has made this situation even more troubling is the manner in which the demand for his redeployment by the Ohanaeze Youth Forum has been received. Rather than address the substance of the concerns and demonstrate transparency, briefcase groups have emerged to mount public campaigns in his defence, with some apparently more interested in attacking those demanding accountability than answering the allegations. The attempt to drown legitimate questions in sponsored public noise does not resolve anything. Indeed, it raises further questions about the interests being protected. An INEC National Commissioner should not require a network of political defenders to establish his neutrality. His conduct, institutional record and willingness to submit to interrogation should speak for him.

Across the South East, the political controversy surrounding Mr. Ukeagu has become increasingly disturbing. Politicians and political interests opposed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election have repeatedly invoked their association with the National Commissioner. This situation demands serious attention from INEC. An electoral umpire cannot afford to become a consultant or political reference point for competing partisan interests. Whether a politician supports or opposes the President is entirely within that politician’s democratic rights. What is unacceptable is any perception that access to, or influence over, an electoral commissioner is available to particular political interests.

The South East is entitled to determine its political future through free, fair and credible elections. No National Commissioner has the authority to substitute his personal political preferences for the collective democratic choices of the people. At a time when political parties and stakeholders are preparing for the 2027 elections, INEC must demonstrate that its officials are institutionally independent and above partisan associations. The continued controversy over Mr. Ukeagu’s neutrality is already creating an avoidable crisis of confidence. The Commission must not sacrifice public trust to protect the tenure or posting of one individual.

We therefore demand that the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, immediately remove Dr. Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu from responsibility for Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi States and initiate a comprehensive investigation into the allegations concerning his conduct. We are giving the Commission SEVEN DAYS from the presentation of this demand to act. Seven days is sufficient for INEC to take an administrative decision that will reassure the people of the South East that their electoral interests are being protected. There is no justification for allowing this crisis to linger while preparations for the 2027 elections continue.

We also demand that INEC establish an independent process to investigate the alleged leakage of sensitive electoral documents and information, identify every individual involved, establish the extent of any unauthorised disclosure and make its findings public. The Commission must provide clear answers about the alleged electoral consultancy arrangements involving the National Commissioner and anti-APC politicians in Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi states. These questions cannot be answered through media hysteria by rented defenders or political associates. They require institutional investigation and accountability.

Should INEC fail to remove Mr. Ukeagu within the seven-day ultimatum, the Igbo Youth Assembly will mobilise millions of young people across the South East for demonstrations and to occupy INEC offices in the five South Eastern states until he is removed. We shall also commence a wider pan-Igbo mobilisation, involving Igbo communities and organisations across Nigeria and in the diaspora, for a protest at the INEC National Headquarters in Abuja. Our mobilisation will be lawful, disciplined and directed exclusively at demanding institutional accountability. We will not allow this matter to disappear through bureaucratic delay or political intimidation.

We call on the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Council of State, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, religious leaders and other stakeholders to prevail on INEC to act in the overriding interest of electoral credibility. We equally call on the National Assembly to exercise its oversight responsibilities and ensure that allegations of compromised electoral administration receive the attention they deserve. The South East must not be made to bear the consequences of a crisis of confidence that INEC has the institutional capacity to prevent.

Finally, let it be clearly understood that the Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly is not asking INEC to favour any political party, candidate or administration. We are demanding an electoral umpire that is manifestly neutral, transparent and accountable. No individual is bigger than the institution he serves, and no National Commissioner should be allowed to become a source of political controversy in an election-sensitive region.

SIGNED:

Comrade Noble Nkem Regius,

Spokesman, Pan-Igbo Youth Assembly (PIYA)