The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has released the credentials of the candidates participating in the forthcoming by-elections in four states.
Festus Okoye, the INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, announced this in a statement on Saturday, February 29, 2020.
This comes two weeks ahead of the March 14 by-elections to be conducted in Niger, Kwara, Sokoto and Jigawa States.
The by-elections are for Magama/Rijau (Niger) and Babura/Garki (Jigawa) federal constituencies, as well as Patigi (Kwara) and Kebbe (Sokoto) state constituencies.
A total of 10 political parties are expected to participate in the election.
The parties, according to INEC, are Accord, African Democratic Congress, ADC, Action Democratic Party, ADP, All Progressives Congress, APC, All People’s Party, APP, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, African Action Congress, AAC, Allied Peoples Movement, APM, and New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
With the publication of the credentials, INEC is urging any individual or group that has reasons to challenge the credibility of the submitted documents to do so.
“The commission wishes to draw attention to the provision of Section 31(5) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which entitles “any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by a candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate is false to file a suit at the Federal High Court, High Court of a state or FCT against such person seeking a declaration that the information contained I the affidavit is false,” said Okoye.
According to him, the commission is determined to conduct free and fair elections in accordance with extant laws while working with critical stakeholders to ensure the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
The national commissioner also appealed to all eligible voters in the respective constituencies to go out and exercise their franchise on the day of the elections.
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