Osun 2018: INEC to publish candidates’ list Monday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will, on Monday, publish the list of candidates for the September 22 governorship election in Osun State.

This was disclosed on Friday by the national electoral umpire against reports that one or two political parties in the election did not submit the names of the running mates of their candidates at the close of submission deadline on July 23.

A report by an online newpaper, the Western Post, on Friday, had indicated that PDP and its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, failed to submit the name of the deputy governor nominee to the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) as at the close of the submission deadline, on Monday, July 23, 2018.

However, both the PDP and the INEC affirmed that the party had submitted the name of its deputy governorship nominee for the election. They, however, did not disclose when it was submitted.

Also corroborating the PDP claim, INEC declared that the party had submitted the name of its deputy governorship candidate, adding that the names of the governorship and deputy governorship candidates of all the 48 political parties for the Osun governorship poll would be published on Monday.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune on the telephone, spokesman to the INEC chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, however said he did not know the name of the PDP deputy governorship nominee or when it was submitted to the commission.

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Oyekanmi, who said he was driving when he was called, added, “I don’t know when exactly the name was submitted, but there is a name of the PDP deputy governorship nominee submitted to INEC. I don’t know the name, but I know a name was submitted and I know that there is a running mate for the PDP governorship candidate for the Osun governorship election coming up on September 22.”

Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed the claim that it failed to submit the name of its running mate to its governorship candidate to INEC.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview, the APC national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party actually submitted to INEC the name of Israel Famurewa as the running mate to its standard-bearer, Gboyega Oyetola.

Both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2010 stipulated the terms and the deadline for the submission of the names of the governorship candidates and their deputies of all political parties contesting the governorship election.

Section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) says, “Every political party shall, not later than 60 days before the date appointed for a general election under the provisions of this Act, submit to the Commission [INEC] in the prescribed forms the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the election.”

In the same vein, Section 187 (1) of the 1999 Constitution states: “A candidate for the office of governor of a state shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of governor who is to occupy the Office of Deputy Governor…”

Clearing the air on the issue however, PDP, through its national publicity secretary, Mr Kola Ologbodiyan, told Saturday Tribune that there was no cause for alarm, claiming that the name of the party’s deputy governorship candidate was submitted to INEC.

Ologbodiyan further said he would later disclose the name of the Osun PDP deputy governorship candidate, adding, “Why are people fretting? I can assure you that there is no cause for alarm and there is no problem whatsoever. We have a deputy governorship candidate for the Osun State governorship election coming up on September 22 and we have submitted the name to INEC.”

When prodded further to disclose the name of the deputy governor, Ologbodiyan simply told Saturday Tribune to approach INEC, even as he said, “INEC will, on Monday publish the names of the governorship candidates of all the 48 political parties contesting the Osun governorship election and their deputies, including PDP.”