By G9ija
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted claims made by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Bode George, that Femi Odubiyi, a former Commissioner in Lagos State, was appointed as the head of INEC’s Information and Communications Technology department.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, released a statement on Sunday demanding that INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu remove Femi Odubiyi from his purported position as head of the Commission’s ICT department.
George claimed that Odubiyi’s close relationship with the APC’s presidential candidate and President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was grounds for his removal.
Furthermore, George called on Yakubu to provide an explanation as to how Odubiyi was appointed to the crucial role in charge of ICT, a department that plays a critical role before, during, and after elections.
Dismissing the claim in a statement late Tuesday, INEC through its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the widely publicised report attributed to Bode George was a false claim. “Nothing can be farther from the truth,” Okoye said.
He said, “To set the record straight, the name “Femi Odubiyi“ does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any state office of the Commission.”
INEC said its ICT staff were career officers of the Commission, adding “none has held any political appointment in any state of the Federation.”
“The public is urged to disregard the story. The promoter should have been circumspect so as not to be seen as a purveyor of fake news.” he added.