The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged civil servants to stay away from partisan politics, saying lobbying for political patronage by them has the potential to destroy the gains the country has attained in the democratic process over the years. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated this during a meeting organized by the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in conjunction with Secretaries to State Governments (SSGs) in Abuja on Friday.
Yakubu said bureaucracy is the most efficient and rational way in which human activity could be organized because they are necessary to maintain order, maximize efficiency and eliminate favoritism. Represented by a National Commissioner in the commission, Mr. Sam Olumekun, the INEC boss expressed gladness that the nation’s democracy has evolved since the return of civilian rule in 1999 and that the gains that have been made should be guarded jealously. The INEC boss stated that despite the challenges being faced, the impact of democratic elections on the bureaucracy in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Prof. Yakubu however, warned that when elections were “fraught with malpractices, the recruitment process of political office holders is negatively impacted.”
