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The Independent National Electoral Commission has refuted claims made by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, regarding the deployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ondo State, Toyin Babalola.
In a post via its X account on Tuesday, INEC responded to Makinde’s comments during a campaign rally earlier that day in Akure, where he called on the INEC Chairman to remove Babalola, alleging that she is from Ondo State.
INEC, however, clarified that this assertion was incorrect.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Mrs Babalola is not from Ondo State, in line with the Commission’s policy not to deploy a REC to his or her state of origin,” the commission stated.
The electoral body also referred to a similar allegation made by Makinde in 2020, ahead of the governorship election in Ondo, where he accused a senior INEC official of colluding with a university vice-chancellor to influence the election outcome.
INEC dismissed that accusation as false.
“In 2020, ahead of the last governorship election in the same state, he accused a senior official of the Commission of working with the Vice-Chancellor of a federal university to undermine the election. The allegation was untrue,” INEC explained.
INEC concluded by urging prominent public figures to verify their claims before making “serial, unfounded allegations,” and called for caution in spreading unsubstantiated information.
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