SIEC Chairman Faces Senate Hurdles Over Indigene Status

The Senate on Tuesday raised questions over the state of origin of Dr. Michael Ekpai Odey, the presidential nominee for chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

Dr. Odey, who hails from Cross River State, was nominated alongside six others as commission members by President Bola Tinubu and forwarded to the Senate for confirmation. His nomination, however, sparked concern as he shares the same state of origin with the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Ebok-Eke Ibas.

Worried by this development, the Senate, through its Ad-hoc Committee on Emergency Rule in Rivers State, asked Dr. Odey to provide the legal provisions of the Act establishing the RSIEC to determine whether a non-indigene is legally permitted to chair the commission.

Specifically, the chairman of the Committee, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, told the nominee to submit copies of the enabling law for review and confirmation of his eligibility.

He said, “We are also in possession of the law, but asking you to provide it is a polite way of saying we need to take a second look at it.

“In my opinion, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) is about that particular state.

“This is not a matter we’re going to gloss over. It has to be something we can defend. Even if the law does not explicitly bar someone from outside the state, we need to be sure it’s not repugnant to public conscience.”

He further stated: “We’ll take a second look, perhaps at the eligibility criteria. Your appointment has raised a new issue — whether such appointments could set a precedent. That is what we need to clarify.”

In his defence, Dr. Odey maintained that the RSIEC law does not disqualify non-indigenes from being appointed as Chairman or members of the Commission.

“With utmost respect, I have gone through the RSIEC’s enabling law, and nothing precludes the appointment of a person from outside the state as Chairman of the electoral management body,” he told the committee.

The Senate Committee also screened the other six nominees for the Commission. They include: Mr. Lezaasi Lenee Torbira, Professor (Dr.) Arthur Nwafor, Professor Godfrey Woke Mbudiogha, Professor (Dame) Joyce Akaniwor, Dr. (Mrs.) Olive A. Bruce, Professor Chidi Halliday