Ondo: INEC denies substituting AAC candidate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied substituting the candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in the coming October 10 governorship election in Ondo State.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, said this on Monday in Abuja.

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According to him, the commission published the provisional list of candidates for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for 10th October 2020 in its state office in Akure and also uploaded same to its website and social media platforms.

He said the list contained the names of the governorship and deputy governorship candidates submitted by 17 political parties, including AAC at the close of nomination on 28th July 2020.

“However, one of the aspirants in the primaries of the party accused the commission of substituting his name as the rightful governorship candidate of the party, while another aspirant also claimed that the commission substituted his deputy governorship candidate.

“Contrary to these assertions, INEC did not substitute the name of any aspirant or candidate. The commission received only one submission from the AAC through its dedicated online portal for candidate nomination. There was no human interface.

“The names uploaded on the portal by the political parties were the same names published. The commission only receives the names of candidates and running mates from the national headquarters of political parties, duly signed by both the national chairman and national secretary,” Okoye said.