Teeming youths from Kwara State, under the aegis of Zealous Kwara Youths have rejected the nomination of the Chairman of Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), Dr Uthman Ajidagba as a Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ajidagba’s name was recently presented to the Senate for confirmation as a REC, but the youths, at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, said he was already partisan and a misnomer for such appointment .

According to them, his nomination portended anarchy in the state in no distance future.

The youths, led by their President, Vice-President and Secretary, Comrades John Olawale Adegboye, Ilyas Babatunde Lawal and Ahmed Korede respectively, said that the appointment of RECs is not meant for obviously partisan persons like Ajidagba.

They said that they had already submitted a petition to the National Assembly to that effect, adding that the Senate should use the petition as a tool to take a cursory look at all the individuals so nominated by the Presidency, and most especially the nomination coming from Kwara State.

They further lamented that Ajidagba’s tenure as KWASIEC chairman has been dogged in controversy since 2013, adding that all elections conducted under his stewardship had been trailed by disputes and controversies.

While urging the Senate to set up a committee that would visit the state and interact with the various stakeholders on council elections, the group affirmed that its members who consisted of law abiding and patriotic citizens would remain vigilant in the process.

It said that the group would not condone anything that might tamper with the conduct of free and fair elections, either in the state or any part of the country.

The group said: “It is with great concern for the future of fair play in democratic practices in Nigeria that we are forced to organise this press conference. A popular saying holds that evil only persists when the voices of good remains silent. It is in view of this saying that we have decided not to keep quiet about a nomination which portend grave consequences to our democratic in the future.

“It is with sadness and concern that we wish to inform President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, all our distinguished Senators and the generality of Nigerians about the immediate and future dangers inherent if the nomination of a certain Dr Uthman Ajidagba is given approval to act as a Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC.

“In view of his antecedence, it becomes our responsibility as patriotic citizens of our country to inform the rest of our fellow compatriots of the situation before it becomes an issue,” the group further said.

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