After five-year stint as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini, on Friday, bade the people of the State goodbye, shrugging off all the controversies that characterised his tenure even as he gave himself a passmark.
Speaking in an interview, Igini said despite death threats by politicians, who wanted him to bend the rules for them to win elections, he stood his ground to reform the electoral process in the State, which he said was badly battered before the 2019 polls.
He said his life was on the line for refusing to allow desperate politicians to rig elections in 2019, maintaining that, “Politicians in the State are used to rigging elections and when Igini said no, that is why the Dinosaurs are angry.”
“My retirement from service is constitutional and I will hand over to the Administrative Secretary of INEC in Akwa Ibom State as I leave the State,” he said and thanked the media “for giving meaning to the ballot through objective reportage.”
He noted, “INEC in Akwa Ibom State under my watch is very clear on the conduct of elections as directed by INEC at the national and we are poised to deal with historical challenges as it concern electoral matters.”
He added that far-reaching reforms were carried out to reposition the Commission.
He recalled that no fewer than 23 polling units were discovered in private homes of politicians and relocated to open places as part of the reforms.
“In 2019, some illegal polling units were identified in the homes of politicians in the State and I directed that such polling units be relocated to open places where people can vote under conducive atmosphere,” Igini said.
To enhance easy access to polling units, Igini said his regime ensured the creation of several units to raise the number to 4,354, to be used in the 2023 elections.
35 cases, according to him, were instituted against INEC in Akwa Ibom State in 2019, saying “we won all, 99% victory.”
“INEC in the State will continue to serve the people even at the risk of their lives because they are doing the right thing,” Igini stated.
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