The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no senatorial candidate for Yobe north and Akwa Ibom north-west districts for the 2023 elections.
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who represents Yobe North is battling to get the party’s ticket after losing the APC presidential primary.
Godswill Akpabio is also battling to get the APC ticket to run for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial seat.
Akpabio also vied for the APC presidential race.
Festus Okoye, INEC spokesperson, said this on Sunday in an interview on Channels Television.
“The commission has made it very clear that under section 29(1) of the electoral act, it is the responsibility to forward to INEC the list and personal particulars of their members who emerged from validly-conducted party primaries,” he said.
“In these two constituencies, two names were forwarded and the commission made a determination that the names were not persons who emerged from validly-conducted party primaries and we did not publish their names. That is where we are.
“So, the commission will not go out of its way to plead with a political party to forward the name of a candidate that emerged from a validly-conducted primary.
“If a political party does not forward the name of the candidate that emerged from a validly-conducted primary, the implication is that the political party will not have the candidate in the election for that particular constituency and that is just the law.
“Their (referring to Lawan and Akpabio) names were uploaded by the APC to our candidates’ nomination portal, but the commission made a determination that they were not the candidates that emerged from valid party primaries.
“The commission did not publish their names and their particulars in their constituencies. So, the implication is that as of today, the APC does not have candidates in those two constituencies”, he said.
