By: Ajadi Sodiq
The Katanga Republic Independent Electoral Commission (KRIEC) on Wednesday 31st, May 2023 in an official press release announced the reasons behind the disqualifications of candidates vying for important positions in the Hall by its screening result on Monday.
The KRIEC released the results of the screening exercise which was held on Monday 27th, and there was a lot of controversy surrounding the results.
Some prominent candidates were disqualified after they failed to reach the minimum of 50% to be qualified to run for the available positions – Lonimi Ogungbure running for the Administrator General post scored 35%, Oyewole Taofeek Mobolaji for House Secretary scored 42%, Ejere Emmanuel for House Secretary had 47%, while Emiola Sarafa vying for Floor representative A4 constituency – was disqualified.
For the sake of clarity, the KRIEC releases its official Press release to make the reasons known to the Katangites.
Addressing the issues on ground, especially after the altercation with the current AG Adejumo Uthman and the former Secretary of State, KRIEC shed light on the reasons behind the scoring of the disqualified candidates.
“During the screening process, Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi presented a one-page manifesto,” the KRIEC wrote.
“Now, it is important to clarify at this point: Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi was not disqualified because he presented a one-page manifesto, but because he could not even confidently defend the content of the plans when brought under scrutiny.
As a commission, we were more concerned about the feasibility of the plans presented to
Katangites than the lofty ideas presented by some candidates.Moving on, about his plans, Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi has zero plans for sponsorship nor did he give a blueprint of his plan for administration if he emerges as the winner.
His plans were laced with some secretarial duties he was not able to achieve during his tenure as the Secretary of State.
Furthermore, Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi also showed a huge level of unpreparedness
compared to most of the candidates screened on that day as was obvious in his response to some of the questions asked of him. He was more like this candidate who assumed the screening process was going to be a walkover having been anointed by some powers that be within the hall.Fellow Katangites, would it have been fair for this commission to qualify an unqualified candidate based on emotions and not objectivity?
As a Commission, we understand that previous Electoral Commissions may have lowered some standards concerning screening processes compared to the present, hence, the agitation from some parties.
However, we believe and maintain that the good people of Katangites deserve worthy leaders who have gone through proper scrutiny and not ones, who expect to get leadership on a platter of gold. Yes, Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi may appear sharp, intelligent, and humble in public, but the Mr. Ogungbure Oluwalonimi we screened on that particular day fell short of the expected standards set by this commission. And we will stand by these standards in subsequent screening.
