The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is investigating petitions against several State Resident Electoral Commissioners over the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

After the elections of March 28, the commission has received series of petitions against some electoral commissioners, with claims that the electoral process was flawed.

In an interview he granted Channels Television today, the spokesman for the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said the petitions contained different alleged violations that some political parties believed took place during the elections.

He said the commission would look at the substance in the petitions before it would take a position.

Idowu said: “I am aware that the commission has received a number of petitions from diverse interests, raising one issue or the other about the political process. What the commission does with petitions is to interrogate the substance of those petitions.”

He, however, explained that the claims must be substantial enough, with adequate prove that the process was scuttled for it to be upheld.

“The job of the commission is to look whether those complains were genuine and proven and how substantial it is to affect the procedure that played out during the elections,” Mr Idowu reiterated.

Meanwhile, INEC has suspended two electoral officers in Edo State in connection with their roles in the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

At a pre-governorship election meeting today in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, tried to address issues that have been raised by different parties in the state after the presidential election.

He said that INEC had decided to conduct fresh elections in five local government areas in addition to Orhionmwon LGA which was suspended to determine the winner for Edo South Senatorial district election. The elections in those areas were rejected by some party members.

•Pieced together from separate stories by Channels TV. Photo shows INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega.

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