We won’t recognise imposed candidates, says INEC amid Machina-Lawan row

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will not recognise “imposed candidates”.

Mr. Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this in a chat with Daily Trust on Friday.

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There has been controversy over the Yobe North Senatorial contest between Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Hon Bashir Machina.

While the former, who lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, and dis not participate in the Senatorial primaries, the latter won the Yobe North senatorial seat as confirmed by INEC.

However, the APC under the leadership of Abdullahi Adamu had submitted Lawan’s name to INEC as candidate of the ruling party for Yobe North.

While he refused to be comment on the Yobe North Senatorial primaries controversy, Mr. Oyekanmi said accepting any candidate that did not contest any of the party primaries will amount to a breach of the Electoral Act 2022.

“Any candidate not validly nominated at a properly organised primary election monitored by INEC will not be accepted by the commission. Accepting such a candidate will amount to a breach of the Electoral Act 2022,” Oyekanmi said.

He also said that there is a difference between ‘publication of personal particulars of candidates’ and ‘publication of the final list of candidates’.

He said that according to the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 General Election, Friday, 24th June is for the publication of the Personal Particulars (Form EC9) of candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the respective candidates’ constituencies.

He added that the personal particulars of candidates for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will be published in the same manner on 12th August 2022.

“But the final list of nominated candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections will be published on 20th September, while that of the nominated candidates for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will be published on 4th October 2022.

“It should be noted that there is a difference between ‘publication of personal particulars of candidates’ and ‘publication of the final list of candidates.”

On political parties changing candidates, he told Daily Trust, “A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate (Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022).

“In the case of withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party is required to hold a fresh primary election to produce and nominate a fresh candidate for the election concerned within 14 days of the occurrence of the event (withdrawal or death).”