The National Executive Committee of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) has suspended the electoral process for the 2022 General Elections as announced by the seven-man Ad-Hoc electoral panel headed by Professor Innocent Ogwude.

Publicity Secretary of the Institute, Mrs Chizoba Anyika, who made this known in a statement on Wednesday, added that the Chairman of Council and President of CIOTA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, and the National Secretary, Hon. Chinda Evans Ogbuji, jointly signed a resolution at an emergency meeting of National Executive Committee (NEC), noting that the decision was taken in line with the provisions of paragraph 6, sub paragraph 3 of the first schedule of the Establishment Act of CIOTA of 2019.

The NEC said the decision was to save the entire electoral process and reiterated its commitment to having a transparent and credible elections and hand-over of power to the next administration.

Jamoh said that the NEC was under oath to serve the institute selflessly.

“We had to take this decision to save the entire electoral process. NEC have received several complaints about the process such as Ad-Hoc Electoral Committee levying interested members for expression of interest form without approval of NEC, non-publication of all vacant elective positions, restriction of collection and submission of nomination forms to just one week instead of the five weeks to election date as stipulated in the CIOTA Act, non-adherence to eligibility criteria as contained in the Institute’s Act, and lack of transparency and fairness in the entire process, amongst other allegations,” Jamoh said.

“We shall not condone any act by anybody or group of persons to bring the Institute to disrepute. The Electoral Committee should not allow itself be coerced into taking actions that will set bad precedence that will injure the reputation of CIOTA. I am glad about the level of interest in CIOTA electoral process. It’s a testament to the enviable standards we have taken the Institute to.

“We are committed to ensuring fair play in the conduct of elections. All interested aspirants must be given equal opportunity and a level playing field. All actions leading to the elections must be in line with the CIOTA ACT 2019. CIOTA is a creation of the Law and, as such, must be guided by provisions of its enabling Act. Being the Exco that midwifed the enactment of the CIOTA Act in 2019, we will not condone any action contrary to the Act and constitution of the Institute on election matters.

“The Professor Innocent Ogwude-led Electoral Panel is saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections to fill executive positions at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for the last week of November 2022,” the statement reads in part.

Mrs Anyika noted that according to CIOTA Act 2019, positions that will become vacant by the end of 2022 subject to recommendations to Chairman of Council by the Electoral Panel include President, Deputy President, National Secretary, Assistant National Secretary, Provost, Treasurer, National Financial Secretary, Public Relations Officer and Auditor 1,2 and 3.

It is also noteworthy that the CIOTA Act 2019 stipulates in section 5, sub section 2(a) that the National President of the Institute shall be a fellow of the institute with, at least, five years of post-registration experience. Collection and submission of nomination forms are scheduled to elapse 5 weeks prior to the elections according to the first schedule of CIOTA Act 2019.

The institute became chartered in June 2019 under the Dr Bashir Jamoh-led executive when President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR signed into law the CIOTA enabling Act 2019.

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