Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu has urged political parties fielding candidates in off-season elections in Edo and Ondo to keep to the deadline for submission of candidates as the Commission would not grant requests for extension of dates.
Professor Yakubu gave the words of caution on Tuesday at a meeting between his Commission and the political parties at the quarterly Consultative session with the latter.
Professor Yakubu who maintained that political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to the Commission’s portal for the Edo governorship also noted that only six parties have uploaded their nominations to the portal.
He said: “Already, party primaries for the Edo State Governorship election have been concluded. By the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated portal.
“We have trained party Liaison Officers and established a Help Desk for political parties. The portal opened on 4th March 2024 and will automatically shut down at 6 pm on Saturday 24th March 2024. Two weeks later, only six parties have uploaded their nominations to the portal.
“We urge you to keep to our schedule of activities and avoid last minute rush that may undermine your ability to successfully nominate your candidates. There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable us publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law.”
Ahead of the conduct of primaries for the Ondo governorship election, the INEC Chairman revealed that only
16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election and also expressed concern over acrimonious parties which could lead to litigations from aggrieved aspirants.
“I urge political parties to adhere strictly to your proposed dates and modes of primaries. Frequent changes as we witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly. The Commission cannot mobilize, demobilize, and remobilize our officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties. Parties should stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources.
“Similarly, political parties should avoid acrimonious primaries. Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence. So too is the tendency to grant waivers to candidates who were a few days earlier card-carrying members of other political parties and nominating such persons to the Commission as their candidates for election. Some of these infractions lead to unnecessary litigations among party members in which the Commission is always joined as a party.
“The legal fees and cost of producing Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents can be used more productively in other electoral activities by both the political parties and the Commission. We must find a solution to this situation.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said the platform under his leadership would collaborate with INEC to ensure credibility of the two off-cycle elections in the two states.
Dantalle also dropped the hint that in view of the ongoing Constitution amendment, IPAC would submit proposals to the National Assembly for review of certain provisions in the Electoral Act to instill sanity in the electoral process.
“This leadership of IPAC will live up to its mandate to ensure an environment conducive to the conduct of successful elections. Accordingly, IPAC will set up a Constitution and Electoral Act Amendments Committee to review glaring irregularities in recent elections and make proposals to the National Assembly in its ongoing Constitution and Electoral Act amendments.
“In this regard, IPAC will be proactive to ensure that the Edo and Ondo States gubernatorial elections meet the expectations of Nigerians and international community. There should be no excuse for poor performance. IPAC will constantly engage INEC and major stakeholders to ensure the success of these elections and will be there for mobilisation of voters, sensitization, and monitoring of polls.
“IPAC commends the leadership of INEC for its performance so far, so much still needs to be done to improve the nation’s electoral process that will drastically reduce post-election petitions and litigations. Just as Council will engage leaders of Political Parties on strict adherence to internal party democracy in the nomination of candidates for various elective offices which will in turn reduce pre- election litigations.
“It is unfortunate that funds that should have been deployed to deepen party politics and structures in the country are spent on avoidable litigations that distracted, disorganized, disrupted and destabilized activities of most political parties and eventually change of leadership. Most of these fictionalizations and imposition of candidates are sponsored by notorious godfathers and reactionary forces from other political parties to ensure they conquer the electoral process.“
