Chairman of the Independent National Electrical Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has cautioned against wrong party primaries that often lead to legal battle in which the Commission is joined.
Addressing political party representatives at the regular meetings, especially as the off-the-season Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States approach, Professor Mahmood Yakubu asked political parties to adhere strictly to modes of primaries.
“Frequent changes as we witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly.
“The Commission cannot mobilise, demobilise and remobilise 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.”
The INEC boss said that the off-cycle Governorship elections in Edo State will hold on Saturday, 21st September 2024 while the Ondo State Governorship election holds on Saturday, 16thNovember 2024.
He said that 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 6pm on Saturday 24thMarch 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.
“For the Ondo State Governorship election, party primaries begin in the next two weeks on 6thApril 2024 and ends three weeks later on 27thApril 2024.
“So far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.
