The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the candidate nomination portal for Presidential and National Assembly party flag bearers will be closed on June 17.
Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, stated this on Friday in Abuja.
He spoke at an INEC Press Corps one-day forum on the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. The theme of the program was ‘Elections Coverage in Nigeria: A Look At The Grey Areas In The Electoral Act.’
He also stated that the commission will close the nominations for governorships and state assemblies on July 15.
Mr Segun Ojumu, Chairman of the Corps, stated that the event was part of the corps’ contributions to deepening the nation’s democratic process and ensuring hitch-free governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
This year’s governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun are scheduled for June 18 and July 16, respectively.
Okoye stated that any political party that does not upload the list and personal information of its nominated candidates will not have a candidate for that position.
He said “Parties must be diligent in the screening of their candidates and any political party that which presents to the commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualification stipulated in section 29 of the Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10m.
“Any political party that nominates a candidate that is not qualified has constitutionally excluded itself from submitting any name to the Commission and the Commission will not violate the intendment of the Constitution by accepting such nomination.”
