The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described the recently concluded party primaries in the country as the most acrimonious in the history of Nigeria.
He said it was glaring that internal democracy in the parties still remained a source of major concern.
Absolutely worried about this, Yakubu said it was largely against this background that the commission has been joined in 396 pending cases in court.
He revealed that aside this, 302 requests for Certified True Copies (CTC) of documents mainly on the commission’s monitoring reports of party primaries have been made, adding quickly that ‘these requests are preludes to more court cases.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated this Friday in Abuja while declaring open a two-day capacity building workshop for members of the Commission’s Press Corps.
The INEC boss vowed to ensure a religious adherence to its guidelines and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections, saying it would not treat with levity, parties who violate the guidelines.
He disclosed that 52 petitions from aggrieved party aspirants are with the commission. But the INEC boss assured that his commission would conduct a free, fair and credible elections.
He said; “In the next 77 days, Nigerians will go to the polls to elect their representatives in Government. Campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly elections started 12 days ago on 18th November 2018. Campaigns for Governorship and State Assembly elections begin tomorrow, December 1, 2018. We can say that the 2019 General Election is truly around the corner. Let me once again seize this opportunity to reassure the country that INEC is ready and committed to free, fair and credible elections.
“You would recall that on 9th January 2018, the Commission released the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 General Elections. For the first time in our history, the date for General Election was announced over a year in advance. More specifically, the timetable lists fourteen (14) step-by-step constitutional and other legal and other statutory activities required of the Commission ahead of the elections beginning with the formal Publication of Notice and ending with the election day.
So far, INEC has successfully implemented seven (7) out of the fourteen (14) activities strictly on schedule, including the conduct of party primaries for all elections and the processes of nomination of candidates. We did not, and will never, tolerate any breach of the strict time-lines provided for in the timetable for the elections”.
