AHEAD Kogi and Bayelsa State governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said certain political parties presented candidates whose age fall below what was prescribed in the Nigerian Constitution for the office.
National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye made the disclosure while unveiling the list of candidates submitted to the Commission for the forthcoming elections.
Barrister Okoye statement was silent on the affected parties but suggested that such candidates would be axed. He said that the affected parties would be notified while the Commission considers further action.
“The publication of the personal particulars of nominees is for members of the public to make any claims and objections regarding these candidates, as required by law. Similarly, the Commission has observed from a preliminary review of the list and personal particulars submitted by the political parties that some of the Governorship and Deputy-Governorship candidates are below the minimum age prescribed by the Constitution for these positions. The Commission will notify the concerned parties soon and subsequently consider further action.”
The statement further revealed that 52 political parties submitted a list of candidates for Bayelsa while 49 submitted in Kogi. The statement further revealed that “a few failed to submit within the time limit prescribed by the Commission.”
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“From our records, 64 political parties conducted primaries in Bayelsa State as against 59 in Kogi State. Out of these, 52 political parties for Bayelsa State and 49 for Kogi State respectively submitted the list of candidates and their personal particulars at the close of nomination at 6 pm on Monday 9th September 2019.
While some of the political parties that conducted primaries did not submit any list and personal particulars of candidates, a few failed to submit within the time limit prescribed by the Commission. Out of the 101 nominees for the two States, 91 are male, representing 90%, while 10 are female, representing 10% of all the nominees. Of the 52 nominees for Bayelsa State, 6 are female, while 46 are male. The corresponding figures for Kogi State are 4 female and 45 male nominees.
“The publication of the personal particulars of nominees is for members of the public to make any claims and objections regarding these candidates, as required by law. Similarly, the Commission has observed from a preliminary review of the list and personal particulars submitted by the political parties that some of the Governorship and Deputy-Governorship candidates are below the minimum age prescribed by the Constitution for these positions. The Commission will notify the concerned parties soon and subsequently consider further action.
“As we continue to prepare for the Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship elections scheduled for Saturday 16th November 2019, the Commission once more reminds the political parties of the timelines in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities and requests strict compliance with them. We look forward to working with the parties and all stakeholders to make the forthcoming elections in the two States free, fair and credible.”
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