Your Excellency: We are ALARMED over the outcome of the just partly concluded recruitment exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). To say the least, sir, we are highly disappointed with the outcome of the list published for examination. These are the observations made with utter dismay, sir: 1. Prior to names being published on Friday 23 April 2010, some people had already been unofficially invited 2 weeks earlier and interviewed secretly by INEC for recruitment. This list and the examination therefore are perceived a mere formality.

2. Going through the just published list, most people who came to check the list were dumbfounded as they could not see their names or even the names of people whom they knew on the list. One wonders if actually, those names published really belong to legitimate applicants.

3. One will unmistakenly see the extent to which names were duplicated on the list. Some names could be clearly counted over 20 times on the list. People clearly felt betrayed, and their time and resources wasted as the application process was unnecessarily cumbersome.

4. We also wondered why the internet was not used to publish these names as the Commission has a website through which the applications were printed. Using papers to publish these names attracted a heavy crowd and Congestion at the office of the Commission in Abuja which could have been avoided if this list was made available online. A simple database program will easily identify and eliminate the duplicated names to reveal the fewer people invited for examination.

Sir, this is to say the least about our suspicions and therefore, lack of confidence on the transparency of the recruitment process, and ultimately the Chairmanship of Professor Maurice Iwu under whose leadership all these malpractice and corruption take place. Even well qualified candidates did not see their names on the list. At this point in time, ordering a redo of the process will do us no good as he will initiate another means of conducting his usual illegal acts and wasting valuable resources. He could be perfecting another means of recruiting loyalists who will do only his bidding if he eventually leaves office before the conduct of the 2011 election. Must we wait for the Chairman to finish his tenure before being considered for removal as Chairman of the body? I leave this to your decisive judgement.

On this note, I call on you, sir, in the interest of transparency and commitment to justice and the fight against corruption, to order an extensive investigation into this matter and other allegations of fraud against Prof. Iwu, and if found wanting, he should be sacked and arrested for fraud immediately alongside his co-conspirators who aide him in these crimes against the nation. I use this opportunity to also call on the EFCC, ICPC, Transparency International, Nigeria Labour Congress, Other pressure groups, and Political parties and Associations, to also step into this matter on behalf of well meaning Nigerians and the Nation.
Sincerely,
Gospel Obioma.
[email protected]


PUBLISHED ON 25/04/2010 BY
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