2019: Okorocha receives new REC

Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha, yesterday, received the newly posted state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Prof. Francis Emeka Ezeonu.


In a statement to newsmen in Owerri by Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, also the governor advocated for a standing election time table in Nigeria.

The release quoted the governor, given a sort of condition to governors’ and other public office holders seeking second term in office, saying that they should first be asked to present their score card.

According to the governor’s statement, “The Imo State Governor and Chairman, Progressive Governors’ Forum, Owelle Rochas has called for a standing INEC time-table for elections in the interest of governance.

“Standing election time-table has become necessary since once INEC announces its time-table for election, governance suffers a great deal and that the announced INEC time-table came somewhat too early.”

On his view about public office holders seeking second term, he said: “All political office holders seeking for second term in office should be made to produce their score cards to INEC as part of the condition to Contest, otherwise, the mandate given by both the people and INEC would amount to nothing.”

He also said: “My concern is that we  spend more time talking about election than we spend talking about governance. The recent pronouncement by INEC in January of activities in August, is to the best of my knowledge, taking us off governance into election.

“And if you look at it we barely have spent two years in governance. And once this is pronounced, everybody’s head goes to elections. So we’re virtually derailed the rest of the time for election.”