Anambra guber poll: INEC defends omission of Soludo, PDP, says it can only replace candidates based on court order

Chidi Samuel| The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said it can only replace the name of a candidate for the Anambra governorship election, if ordered to do so by a court.

The electoral umpire on Friday published the list of qualified aspirants for the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold in November, with the name of Charles Soludo, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and APGA candidate conspicuously missing from the list.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also had no candidate.

Michael Umeoji was listed by INEC as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in place of Soludo.

According to INEC, the decision on Soludo and Umeoji was based on a court order.

See also  SSS to arraign El-Rufai on Wednesday for cybercrime, national security breach

Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner, and chairman, information and voter education, who gave the explanation when he featured on Channels Television programme on Friday night, said the commission can only replace the names of candidates based on court orders, as the timeframe for party primaries has elapsed.

He said, “The period given in our timetable and schedule of activities for the submission of the names of the candidates, which is bound by the electoral act, has elapsed, and that is the ninth day of July, 2021.”

“Within that particular window that we gave, the parties submitted the names of candidates. Now, if at the end of the day, the court makes a determination that the candidate whose name was submitted is not the candidate, and the court gives us an order in relation to another validly nominated candidate, of course, under section 287 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, the commission is duty-bound to give effect to properly constituted court of law.

See also  SSS to arraign El-Rufai on Wednesday for cybercrime, national security breach

“But in terms of political parties submitting lists of candidates, you cannot do that anymore. The period given in our timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of primaries has elapsed.

“The court only operates on the basis of existing law, and on the basis of the constitutional provision.”

Leave a Reply