INEC Explains Why List Excluded Lawan, Akpabio, Umahi as APC Senatorial Candidates
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed why the names of Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Godswill Akpabio, former minister of Niger Delta affairs are missing from the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial list published by the commission on Friday.
THE CABLE reports that INEC spokesperson, Festus Okoye spoke on the development in an interview with Channels Television.Information Guide Nigeria
Although their Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Godswill Akpabio, former minister of Niger Delta affairs; and Dave Umahi, Ebonyi governor had been listed by the APC as candidates for Yobe north, Akwa Ibom north-west, and Ebonyi south senatorial districts respectively, in the list published by the commission on Friday, Lawan, Umahi and Akpabio were said to have been excluded.
According to THE CABLE, the development comes amid controversy over the APC Yobe north senatorial ticket, as well as issues over senatorial primaries featuring Akpabio and Umahi.
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Speaking on the development, Festus Okoye said; “If you look at section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, section 29 says ‘every political party shall not later than 180 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the commission in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates it proposes to support at the election, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political parties’,” he said.
“The commission does not submit the list of candidates. It is the political parties themselves that has been given the locus to submit this particular list and in this case, there is no personal interference between the commission and the political parties.
“We open the portal — what we called ‘candidate nomination portal’ — and we give an access code to the national chairman of each of the political parties that conducted primaries with which they upload the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates.
“So, if a political party has uploaded the list and personal particulars of a candidate that did not emerge from valid party primary, INEC is not under a constitutional and legal obligation to publish the particulars of such a candidate.”Jamb Result
THE CABLE reports that Festus Okoye revealed that the list published on Friday is not the final document for the 2023 polls.
He added that the final list will be published at a later date.
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