According to INEC, personal information of candidates who have been nominated by their political parties for governorship and state assembly elections will be made public in their constituencies across the country on Friday.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu made this announcement at the swearing-in ceremony for a new Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Dr. Hale Longpet, on Thursday at the commission’s Abuja headquarters.
Mr. Yakubu pleaded on Nigerians to examine the details and seek judicial relief for any apparent legal violations.
“As we continue to prepare for the 2023 General Election in earnest, the Commission will tomorrow, Friday July 22, publish the personal particulars of candidates nominated by their political parties for Governorship and State Assembly elections in all the constituencies nationwide as required by law.
“I appeal to all Nigerians (citizens and aspirants) to seize the opportunity to scrutinise the particulars of the candidates and to seek judicial remedy for any observed violation of the law as provided in Section 29 of the Electoral Act 2022,” he said.
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The chairman of INEC lamented the large number of pre-election legal proceedings in the nation, noting that INEC had been named as respondents in 334 instances as of late involving 2023 pre-election issues nationwide.
“Already, the Commission has been inundated by numerous pre-election cases arising from the conduct of congresses and primaries by political parties for the 2023 General Election.
“So far, 334 pre-election cases have been filed in various divisions of the Federal High Court across the country by aspirants challenging the nomination of candidates or their exclusion from the list submitted to the Commission.
“Although these are purely intra-party issues, the Commission has been joined in all these cases.
“With the publication tomorrow of the personal particulars of candidates for governorship, deputy governorship and state assembly elections, we expect the number of cases to rise even higher,” Mr Yakubu said.
He lamented the fact that Nigeria’s electoral process still had problems with internal democracy in political parties.
He promised that INEC would keep talking to political parties while remaining resolute in its enforcement of the law’s provisions and the rules and regulations already in place.
(NAN)
