By Joy Odor
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Tuesday warned political parties that the Commission cannot continue to mobilise, demobilize and remobilise their officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties.
The warming by Prof Yakubu is sequel to the Ondo State Governorship election party primaries starting on 6th April 2024 and ends on 27th April 2024 which so far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.
The INEC Boss who gave the warning at the First Regular Quarterly Consultative Meeting with Political Parties and the leadership of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Abuja headquarters challenged the parties to stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources.
He charged political parties to avoid acrimonious primaries. Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence, saying frequent changes as they witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly.
Prof Yakubu informed that Ondo State Governorship election is holding in eight months i.e. Saturday 16thNovember 2024 while Edo State Governorship election is holding in the next six months i.e. Saturday 21st September 2024.
He urged them to keep to their schedule of activities and avoid last minute rush that may undermine your ability to successfully nominate their candidates, pointing out that there will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable INEC publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law.
“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. 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.
Responding on behalf of the political parties, the National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle promise to ensure enforcement of the Code of Conduct for Political Parties, saying when leaders of political parties and political office holders live up to expectations, Nigerians will have a breath of fresh air in governance.
According to him, if Political Party Leaders had been proactive in responding to national issues and engaging governments at all levels on ill-conceived and anti-people policies and actions, proffered alternative course of actions, the country would not have been in this sorry state, unfortunately, they allowed partisan politics to becloud their sense of patriotism.
“Election is the beauty of democracy. The ballot is sacred and sacrosanct. It is our duty as political leaders to ensure the elections meet international best practices and also hold critical stakeholders accountable.
“Vote selling and buying, thuggery, voters apathy and intimidation of electoral officials particularly to declare results under duress are still issues militating against the conduct of credible polls in Nigeria.
“The lessons from the general election, off season governorship elections and rerun polls will give the Commission and Political Parties yet another opportunity to review and reexamine the Constitution, Electoral Act, the guidelines and regulations for the conduct of elections, and make necessary amendments that will strengthen the electoral process and integrity of elections conducted.
“IPAC stands as a formidable unifying platform for political parties, promoting dialogue and cooperation on crucial national issues with a view to deepening and strengthening democracy in Nigeria.
