By Gbenga Sodeinde
The Government of Ekiti State has condemned syndicated media reports alleging that the Kayode Fayemi-administration is requesting the submission of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from teachers through the state chapter of the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) for ‘election rigging’ purposes.
The Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation, Mr. Akinbowale Omole, in a statement released on Thursday, noted that “there is no iota of truth in the purported statement and law abiding citizens should disregard the claim.” Omole confirmed that the reckless rumours which originated from statements made during an interview by Mr. Jackson Adebayo, a political operative and former Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party), is false and malicious, and has been rightly debunked by both the TESCOM and the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
Omole further stated that “we are mindful of our role as a government in the electioneering process and are duly guided by the electoral act and the guidelines as provided by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). We are committed to contributing to the process of a free, credible, and fair election in the State, in keeping with extant laws and guidelines. We want to seize this opportunity to advise the general public to be watchful of inaccurate reports and information being circulated by politicians with negative intents as regards the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
Amongst other priorities, the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi is fully focused on its duty to the people of the state and to our resourceful teachers by providing an enabling environment for their growth and development. It is interesting that this is coming at a time teachers are celebrating the fact that one of them, Mr. Asubiojo Henry Olaoluwa, through the unprecedented facilitation of the Governor was recently appointed to the board of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC).
“This administration enjoys the goodwill of our esteemed teachers, and they know Mr. Governor is a decent public servant who would never be party to anything that would impugn on the integrity of the electoral process”, Omole concluded.