A factional National Vice Chairman, South West of Labour Party (LP), Dr. Abayomi Arabambi has petitioned President Bola Tinubu over the recent transfer of Osun state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Mutiu Agboke and the appointment of one Mrs. Toyin Babalola as his replacement.
Arabambi, while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja expressed worry over a series of administrative actions within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which he described as a threat to the country’s democracy.
He explained that the appointment, tenure, and removal of RECS are not matters of administrative convenience or whimsical decision-making by the INEC Chairman.
Arabambi cited The Third Schedule, Part 1, Item F, Paragraph 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 154(1), which state that RECs are appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate.
He pointed out that what they have witnessed in the case of Agboke was a fundamental violation of this constitutional architecture, adding that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, does not possess the power to remove a REC. He never has.
The Labour Party chieftain pointed out that by acting on a petition allegedly written by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Amupitan has overstepped his constitutional bounds.
He said he had, in effect, allegedly allowed a partisan political actor to dictate the composition of electoral management personnel in a state where emotions are high and elections are imminent.
Arabambi said: “Where is the committee of investigation? Where are the terms of reference? Where is the evidence that Barrister Agboke was given a fair hearing, an opportunity to defend himself against these allegations?
“Your Excellency, these are not mere technicalities. These are the pillars of natural justice and constitutional governance. To remove a man from his post based on a partisan petition without due process is to impugn his integrity, damage his reputation, and destroy the career of a public servant without a shred of proof.”
Arabambi, therefore, challenged Amupitan to provide the evidence that Agboke was afforded fair hearing.
He maintained that by removing a REC without presidential approval and without Senate confirmation of his removal, Amupitan has acted beyond his constitutional power.
Arabambi said the chairman has created a chilling precedent: that any party chairman who writes a petition can have a REC removed, saying this is not governance; but anarchy.
“If one consequential politician in Osun State can trigger the removal of a REC, then what stops similar actors in Edo, Ondo, or Kogi from doing the same? The APC state chairman in Osun is not above any other citizen. His petition was not investigated. No evidence was provided. No right of reply was granted. And yet, Professor Amupitan took the law into his own hands.
“He has impugned the integrity of a fellow man without due process. He has acted as though he is the accuser, the judge, the jury, and the executioner. This must stop,” Arabambi maintained.
Against this background, Arabambi called on the President to rein in Amupitan, saying he cannot allow the APC to be seen as a party that manipulates electoral officials to rig elections. That perception will be your undoing in the South-West.
He stated: “Direct Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, to immediately return Barrister Mutiu Agboke to Osun State as the duly appointed Resident Electoral Commissioner. His removal was unlawful, unconstitutional, and without due process. It must be reversed without delay.
“Second, remove Toyin Babalola from any role in Osun State or any other state. I call on you, Mr. President, to issue a binding directive that no REC shall be transferred or removed within 90 days of any election except through the full constitutional process outlined in Section 157(1)—that is, by the President with a two-thirds majority of the Senate, based on proven misconduct or inability to discharge functions.”
Arabambi noted that Tinubu must not allow the APC to be painted as a party that rigs elections through administrative coup.
“Remove Babalola. Return Agboke. Restore sanity to INEC. The people of Osun State should be left alone to vote for whosoever they want as their governor, free from the meddling of compromised officials. That is the only path to a credible election and a peaceful 2027,” he insisted.