INEC sacks three Directors

By BEN AGANDE

Three Directors at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were at the weekend relieved of their appointments in what a source at the commission said signposts the beginning of sweeping changes to come in the commission in the next few weeks.
Those relieved of their appointments were the Director of Finance and Administration, Mrs. Gambo; Directors of Training, Mr. Samson Akpan and Mr Ena Isiamve. Mr. Jude Okwuonu is to act as Director of Training pending his confirmation or the appointment of a substantive director. Though no reasons were given for the removal of the directors, a source at the commission told Vanguard that the Director of Finance was relieved of her appointment as a result of “demonstrated incompetence and insubordination to constituted authorities.”
The source said “what broke the camel’s back was her rudeness to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission after two weeks of absence from her duty post without any convincing reason.
“The Director travelled to the United States of America and stayed for two weeks during which time several files were stacked on her table and vital decisions of the commission could not be implemented. When she came back and reported for duty, the Chairman sent for her and it took her more than two hours to see the chairman. There and then, the chairman announced that she had been relieved of her appointment. It came as a rude shock to her and she wailed uncontrollably.”
The two Directors in the Training Department of the commission were also removed because, as one source in the commission said, “they were not doing enough to satisfy the commission” in the areas of training of staff to face the challenges of the 2011 elections. It was not clear whether their removal had anything to do with the on going registration of voters.
The removal of all the directors was effected last Friday.
It was gathered that other top officials of the commission might also be affected in the coming weeks as the commission repositions for the conduct of the April elections.
Top on the list of persons said to have been penciled down for redeployment is the Secretary of the commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Kaugama who may be posted out of the commission because he comes from the same geo_political zone as the chairman of INEC professor Attahiru Jega.
Attempts to speak with the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Emmanuel Umenger were unsuccessful as calls and text messages to his telephone lines were not answered.
But the Chief press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Idowu Kayode confirmed to Vanguard that ‘it is true some Directors were moved. Movement of manpower across units is a routine procedure of every organisation’.