Chief Victor Oye faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance dismisses INEC’s letter on delegates selection, says INEC misguided on APGA primaries
The Independent National Election had written to warn that it could not validate a list of delegates that will vote in the Wednesday party primaries.
Analysts speculated yesterday that APGA would suffer from the administrative failure. It was also believed that this would pull the rug from the feet of frontrunner Chukwuma Soludo.
A memo from a top government official at Agu Awka however asked APGA members not to fret.
The issues raised by INEC violates “the state of the law well settled in the case of shinkafi vs Yari (sc.907/2015) 2016 NGSC 67) decided by the Supreme Court” on 25 of January 2016.
The memo, signed by a Special Adviser to the Governor, argued that the Supreme Court is clear that non-compliance with Sections 85 and 87 cannot disqualify a candidate.
“The pit and substance of this case is whether failure to comply with sections 85 & 87 of the Electoral Act 2010(as amended) is a disqualifing factor for a person duly nominated and sponsored by his political party to contest election as Governor of a State…”
Accordingly, he said the Supreme Court held that … “whereas sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provide for issues of nomination of candidates for elections, sections 177 and 178 of the 1999 Constitution of the FRN ( as amended) provide for issues relating to qualification and disqualification of candidates seeking for election as Governor.
“The section does not state that any political party which fails to give notice of its Congress etc..to INEC will forfeit the right to field a candidate who emanates from such Congress….
The Supreme Court’s position, he said, is that the punishment for non compliance with the provisions of section 85 of the said Electoral Act, remains as provided in section 86(4) which merely states that the political party would be liable upon conviction to a fine of not less than N500,000.00..and nothing more.”
The adviser also dismissed the position on Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 saying INEC is misguided on APGA primaries.
He said the Supreme Court decision is that a party has the right to nominate and sponsor candidates.
“The right to nominate and sponsor a candidate by a political party is a domestic right of right of the party, as it remains a political matter, falling within the exclusive discretion of the party.
“Consequently, a Court has no jurisdiction to determine who a political party should sponsor in an election….. subject only to the provision of section 87(9) of the Electoral Act.”
He asked party faithful not to lose sleep on account of the INEC letters.
“The said letters do not represent the current state of the law as decided by t:he Supreme Court Nigeria in the case of Shinkafi vs Yari mentioned here in and in a plethora of many more cases i did not find need to mention here,” he restated.
“Be assured that our great party , APGA would be in the ballot come 6th of November 2021 and that INEC has neither the legal competence nor constitutional cloak to stop APGA from participating and of course winning the Governorship election, come the 6th of November 202I,” he boasted.
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