The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has bowed to pressure from political parties, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC), to review the timeline for party primaries provided in its timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
The commission extended the deadline for party primaries by six days, as it shifted the date from June 3 to June 9, 2022, a decision considered in the political space as moves to pave way for the APC, as it became obvious yesterday that the governing party would not hold its presidential convention earlier billed to hold tomorrow.
Although no official date has been given by the party, LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that the party may hold its national convention to choose its presidential candidate between June 6 and 7, 2022.
Noting that it has decided to allow the request of the political parties, INEC said the political parties pleaded with the commission to use the 6-day period between June 4 and 9, 2022 to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC candidates’ nomination portal.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission said it did not schedule any specific activity during this period.
The statement which was issued shortly after a meeting between the commission and Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) noted that the idea was to simply give parties time to compile the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates before uploading same to the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal from 10th – 17th June, 2022.
The statement reads in part: “The Commission has decided to allow the request of the political parties since the six-day period does not conflict with the next scheduled activity which is the submission of the list of nominated candidates or any of the subsequent timelines which remain sacrosanct.
“Based on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election, the parties have now pleaded with the Commission to use the 6-day period between 4th and 9th June 2022 to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.
“However, this request is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties. The Commission will not monitor already concluded primaries.”
On the INEC candidates’ nomination portal, the statement said after the conduct of primaries, the next critical activity for political parties is the online submission of the list of the candidates.
Continuing, the commission said the party proposes to sponsor which shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidates indicating that they fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into the various offices via the INEC candidates’ nomination portal.
The electoral body further stated that based on past experience, it has decided to train the political party officials to make efficient and effective use of the portal.
“The Commission will train four officials from each of the 18 political parties, making a total of 72 in all,” Okoye said, regretting however that some of the political parties are still yet to submit their nominees for the training.
“The Commission hereby reminds such parties to do so immediately. The Commission wishes to reiterate that only electronically submitted nominations will be processed.
“Political parties are therefore advised to ensure that their primaries are free of rancour in order to meet the timelines for the remaining activities embodied in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election,” the statement added.
Earlier, the political parties had requested for 37 to 60 days extension of the timeline for primaries and the nomination of candidates.
The commission said it was emphatic that the request could not be granted because it would disrupt other scheduled activities on the Timetable, adding that the position of the Commission has not changed.
During a meeting earlier held at INEC headquarters, IPAC chairman, Yabagi Sani, appealed to the commission to adjust the timeline for political parties to conclude the conduct of their presidential conventions and other primaries.
Sani said, “I want to thank you very much for giving us the very official time to meet with you once again on the issue of how the parties can collaborate with you to ensure that we have a crisis-free election as we conduct our primaries.
“You remember that we wrote a letter to you immediately after our interactive session. Our request for you is to kindly take a second look at the timetable which we can see that ties in respect for the fact that we are putting this election for the first time.
“Shifting the timeline will enable us to deliver on the promise of having free and fair elections as we conduct our primaries.”
Also, the national chairman of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, while reiterating the stance of the IPAC chairman said the “window” will enable them to carry out the task ahead of them perfectly.
“What we are pleading is to give us time and move it within 3rd and 9th so that we can put our house in order. We ask for 30 days, you refuse us. We asked for two months and you also refused. So we are asking for this small window,” he noted.
On his part, INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, said the meeting was convened at the request of the parties.
Yakubu said the meeting was distinct from its regular consultative meeting, adding that the commission obliged the parties accordingly.
He stated: “We just heard from the chairman of IPAC who on behalf of the political parties has once again requested a review of our election timelines.
“It appears that the proposition and request this time is different from the request made by IPAC for which the commission has responded emphatically that an extension between 37 and 60 days will not be entertained in view of the overlapping activities. It appears that the parties have now presented a more defined request for what the chairman calls for a little adjustment.”
Yakubu added that a statement will be issued after a working session with the parties.
INEC had reviewed its schedules for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria in February after President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the 2022 Electoral Act.
In compliance with the new Electoral Acts, the commission fixed April 4 to June 3 for the election of flag bearers of all political parties for the 2023 elections.
Civil society organisations and prominent Nigerians, including a former chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had warned the commission against yielding to the demands of the political parties.
Jega said shifting the deadline would be a recipe for disaster.
But IPAC, during a parley with the INEC held earlier this month, had urged the commission to shift the deadline by 37 days.
The chairman of IPAC, Yabagi Sani, accused the commission of not carrying the leadership of political parties along while designing the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 elections.
Sani said the Sallah holiday, forthcoming Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections and screening of an unprecedented large number of aspirants were issues that could hamper timely and strict compliance with the timetable.
A chieftain of the APC, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, had accused INEC of endangering the conduct of the 2023 general election with what he alleged to be its “plots and partisan interests”.
The development confirms yesterday report by our sister publication, LEADERSHIP, the presidential primary of the APC may not hold tomorrow, Sunday, May 29,2022, as scheduled.
As of Thursday, Eagle Square, the venue of the APC president primary, was a mere shadow of its boisterous self.
Unlike in the past when such events by the governing party are billed to take place at the venue, there was nothing at the Eagles Square to show that preparations were ongoing, including installation of equipment, erection of stages, podiums and billboards of aspirants, as well as posting of their posters around the convention venue.
On the other hand, the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary, was a beehive of activities since Tuesday, with technicians and other event planners working assiduously to fix the place up.
Also, the APC national secretariat was deserted on Thursday, as leaders of the party and key were in their respective states for the governorship and Assemblies primaries, with no guarantee that they would be back in Abuja until tomorrow when the House of National Assembly primaries would have been concluded.
It was also gathered that safe for staff of the APC national secretariat who had been raising memos in preparation for the event this week, the convention committees were yet to be constituted.
The party had rescheduled its presidential primary, bringing the date back from May 30-June 1 to May 29-30, 2022.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed June 3, 2023 as deadline for all political parties to hold and conclude their primaries.
Jonathan Eligible To Run For President, Court Rules
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, ruled thatformer president Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to run for the presidency in 2023.
The judge, Isa Dashen, while delivering a judgement, yesterday held that Jonathan’s right to vie for the presidency a second time cannot be stopped by any retroactive law.
There had been intense political debates over Jonathan’s eligibility to run for the presidency a second time after he was defeated at the polls in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari when he sought to be reelected.
Joining the debate in April, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, had said the former president cannot contest in the 2023 presidential election, citing constitutional provisions that bar the ex-president from seeking re-election.
