By Taiwo Hassan
Professor Gabriel Yomere, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of Cross River, has said that Nigerians reserve the right to vote out under-performing political leaders.
Yomere stated this at the second quarter consultative meeting of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and leaders of civil society organisations in Calabar on Friday.
He said that Nigerians should refuse to accept the notion that every politician must serve two terms irrespective of their performance.
The INEC official said that it was unproductive and irresponsible to stay indoors during elections after criticising an under-performing politician.
“After assuming duty as the REC in Cross River in 2022, I went through the records and saw that the 2019 election turnout was extremely poor.
”I became very worried and decided to do something about it. But after the 2023 election, the outcome remained poor,” he said.
Yomere said that part of the reasons for meeting with civil society organisations was to seek their support towards citizens participation in the electoral process.
“Civil society organisations are critical stakeholders in the electoral process, they need to work with INEC and security agencies to achieve results,” he said.
