It has been made clear by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it does not favour any one candidate or political party.
The clarification follows the Commission’s endorsement of a tweet by Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), in which Sowore referred to Peter Obi, a member of the Labour Party (LP), as an opportunist.
In a tweet, Sowore referred to Obi as an opportunist who fell in love with President Muhammadu Buhari as a result of the Naira redesign policy. He also called Buhari evil and incompetent.
He added that Obi thought the policy would give his campaign an unfair advantage.
Unexpectedly, the INEC liked the tweet, which caused controversy and led Nigerians to question the impartiality of the voting authority.
However, the INEC has publicly addressed the topic and provided clarification. On Wednesday, it posted a statement to its Twitter account.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been alerted to a tweet like a post about one of the 18 presidential candidates, the organization wrote.
As a neutral electoral organization, the Commission does not favor any one candidate or political group. The Commission promises to be impartial and to hold a free and fair general election for all Nigerians. The Nigerian people are the Commission’s only allies.
The Commission is currently looking into what led to the aforementioned post being liked, and if an offense is found, the proper disciplinary measures will be taken.