…justifies their exclusion from 2023 race, advises them to seek redress in court
Independent National Electoral Commission, on Saturday, decided the 2023 political fate of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, ruling that they stand disqualified as senatorial candidates of the All Progressives Congress in next year’s polls.
Lawan and Akpabio’s candidacies had been generating controversies and legal tussle as the APC insisted on fielding them despite INEC’s rejection of their candidacies.
The Commission has consistently denied monitoring the primaries that produced them as APC candidates.
However, INEC in its official reaction on Saturday through its spokesperson, Festus Okoye, advised both Lawan and Akpabio to seek legal redress against its decision to disqualify them from the 2023 Senatorial race.
The Commission explained that it excluded the names of both APC candidates and stands by reports on the party primaries from its state officers.
The electoral body’s spokesman said, “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to speculations circulating online on the outcome of some of the recent primaries conducted by political parties and related issues. In particular, allegations intended to impugn the integrity of the Commission have been made in respect of the Akwa Ibom North West and Yobe North-West Senatorial Districts.
“To set the record straight, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandates the Commission to monitor the organisation and operation of political parties, including their finances, conventions, congresses and party primaries. In line with its constitutional and legal obligations, the Commission deployed monitors to the various constituencies and received reports of such exercise.
“In relation to the primaries for the Akwa Ibom North West and Yobe North Senatorial Districts, the Commission stands by the monitoring reports received from our State offices. For this reason, the Commission did not publish the personal particulars of any candidate for the two constituencies at variance with the State reports.
“Right now, the Commission is funtus officio in the two cases. Aggrieved parties are at liberty to approach the Federal High Court and seek redress as provided in Section 285 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Sections 29(5) and 84(14) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Concerning the issuance of Certified True Copies of documents, INEC said its staff have been working hard, including weekends, to meet the high number of requests received.
Okoye added, “As at Friday July 8, 2022, the Commission has processed 433 requests involving the certification of 1,662,776 pages of documents. Many of them are awaiting collection at the INEC headquarters by some of the same applicants complaining of delay in issuance of the CTCs.
“Persons applying for CTC of documents should endeavour to act timely and within the ambit of the law. The Commission will continue to uphold the integrity of the electoral process, including the deepening of the deployment of technology to enhance the credibility of elections.”