We are not under anyone’s influence

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State, Barrister Kassim Gaidam, has refuted a news report that he rejected offer of bribe to the tune of $1m and a house in Dubai from the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

“We wish to refute this story as not emanating from the Hon. REC. The REC is presently focused on efforts to deliver free, fair and credible elections and has no time for indulgence in distractions intended by the peddlers of the falsehood,” said a statement signed and issued on Tuesday by the Head of Voter Education department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Adamawa State, Rifkatu Duku.

The statement called on all Nigerians to disregard “this fake story as the figment of the infantile imagination of its authors which has no basis on facts!”

A news report had alleged that Atiku had given each REC around the country $1m to compromise the card readers to favour him against incumbent president and candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC), Muhammadu Buhari.

The Adamawa INEC resident commissioner who spoke further on the allegation while administering oath of neutrality on INEC staff at the INEC state office in Yola, said neither Atiku nor any other politician or group of politicians had given him or any INEC staff any form of bribe.

“Nobody has offered us inducement and we are under nobody’s influence,” he asserted.

Performing the oath of neutrality on INEC staff in the state, the resident electoral commissioner said the staff is committed to free and fair elections without preference for any candidate.

“All INEC staff, permanent or adhoc engaged for the elections, shall carry out their functions in line with global best practices. We are only interested in delivering credible elections and not who wins or loses,” he said.

He apologized to Adamawa people over the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections and appealed to them not to be discouraged but to come out in large numbers to vote during the rescheduled election on Saturday.