Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has ruled out the possibilities of substituting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State with those from Accord Party.
INEC said it was against the timeline and framework for the 2019 elections to do so.
The warning came as the Rivers State government in a statement cautioned the election management body against contemplating any such action.
The assurance and warning came against the background of speculations in Rivers State that Accord was soon to become a platform for candidates of the APC, who have lately been entangled by judicial decisions which annulled candidates filed by the Rivers State chapter of the party.
Recall that theportcitynews reported of rumoured defection of a faction of the party to another party due to the lingering legal battle in the APC.
The timeline for the substitution of candidates for elections closed on December 2, 2018. INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye, who dismissed the claim as untrue said he was unaware of any such request for the substitution of candidates from Accord or any other party in Rivers State.
“I am not sure that any request for substitution of candidate has come to INEC. Our window for substitution has closed. We are a law-abiding institution, we will not flout the law regarding that.
“We can only allow substitution in the case of death of a candidate,” Okoye said as he vowed that INEC would not twist the law to favour any political party.
Speaking in the same vein, the Rivers State government urged the commission not to take any action that would compromise the confidence that the electorate has in it.
The state commissioner for Information, Barrister Emma Okah, affirmed that the substitution of a candidate of any party after the window has elapsed could be an abuse of the electoral law.
He said the rumour cannot be easily dismissed because there can be “no smoke without fire.” “The integrity and impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, would be seriously called to question if this is allowed to happen,” he said.
Vanguard/Theportcitynews
