According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stories that the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos were hired to handle logistics for the 2023 general elections aren’t true.
Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made this statement during an interview on Thursday’s episode of The 2023 Verdict on Channels Television.
Recall that there have been rumours that the INEC in Lagos State has contracted the management of the state parks to Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo.
While refuting this, Okoye said: “So, the issue of the name of an individual being mentioned to the effect that the individual is going to provide all the vehicle that the commission needs or for the purposes of this election is just mischievous.
“For the 2023 election, this Commission is going to hire at least 138,000 vehicles and we have hired vehicles in the past. This Commission is going to hire at least 4,000 boats; we have hired boats in the past, and this Commission will hire at least 88,000 motorcycles.
He added: “Now the Commission enters into individual contracts with the vehicle owners; we don’t enter into any form of contract with the union. What we have with the National Union of Road Transport Workers and with the National Association of Road Transport Owners and the Marine Union is what we call a Memorandum of Understanding.
“We don’t enter into a contract with them. So, the issue of the name of an individual being mentioned to the effect that the individual is going to provide all the vehicle that the commission needs or for the purposes of this election is just mischievous.”
According to Okoye, the purpose of INEC’s MoU with the transport unions is to ensure accountability if a driver runs away or fails to report for duty.
