“To set the record straight, the name “Femi Odubiyi” does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any state office of the commission,” Mr Okoye said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied having a former Lagos State commissioner for Science and Technology, Femi Odubiyi, as its ICT director.
Some sections of the media had quoted a former Deputy National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, as saying the commission appointed Mr Odubiyi, an ally of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, as one of its directors.
But INEC dismissed the claim on Tuesday.
In a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission does not have anyone bearing such a name in its ICT Department.
“To set the record straight,” Mr Okoye said “the name “Femi Odubiyi” does not even exist within our ICT Department at the INEC headquarters in Abuja or any State office of the Commission.”
He said the commission’s ICT staff are career officers and none has held any political appointment in any state of the federation.
He, therefore, urged the public to disregard the story, saying “its promoter should have been circumspect so as not to be seen as a purveyor of fake news.”
The presidential and National Assembly elections of two weeks ago that brought in Mr Tinubu of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) have had opposition parties accusing INEC of compromise.
All the three other major candidates, namely Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi òf the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, have rejected the result.
Both Messrs Obi and Atiku have since headed for the Election Petition Tribunal.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe