‘Far from the truth’ — INEC denies appointing ex-Lagos commissioner as ICT head

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied appointing Femi Odubiyi, a former commissioner in Lagos state, as head of its information and communications technology (ICT) department.

Bode George, former deputy chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had alleged that the former commissioner is the new head of ICT at INEC.

George had called on Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, to remove Odubiyi because of his closeness to Bola Tinubu, the president-elect.

He also alleged that Odubiyi is a mole “deliberately planted” in INEC to subvert the will of the Nigerian electorate.

Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner, in a statement on Wednesday, said the PDP chieftain’s allegation is far from the truth.

“To set the record straight, the name “Femi Odubiyi” does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any State office of the Commission,” the statement reads.

“Our ICT staff are career officers of the Commission. None has held any political appointment in any State of the Federation.

“The public is urged to disregard the story. Its promoter should have been circumspect so as not to be seen as a purveyor of fake news.”

The presidential election, which was held on February 25, has been trailed by allegations of irregularities following the inability of INEC to electronically transmit results from polling units in real-time.

The electoral body has assured Nigerians that the technical glitches experienced will not reoccur on March 18 during the governorship and state assembly polls.