25th March, 2022
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will not publish the nominees of the Action Alliance (AA); African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the Osun governorship election.
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued by Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that the Commission would on Friday, publish in its State and Local Government Offices in Osun State the list and personal particulars of the candidates that political parties propose to sponsor at the election.
Okoye said those who would make this list must be candidates who emerged from valid primaries in line with Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The Commission will publish the list and personal particulars of the candidates of 15 out of the 18 political parties that conducted primaries.
“The nominations of AA; ADC and APGA will not be published for their failure to comply with the Commission’s Guidelines on Political Party Operations (2018) or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
“The AA did not submit a nomination jointly signed by the National Chairman and Secretary of the party while the ADC and APGA nominated candidates that do not meet the age requirements for the office of Deputy Governor as enshrined in the Constitution.
“The Commission has already communicated this position officially to the affected Political Parties.”
Gbadebo Adekunle is the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the July 16, 2022 governorship election.
APGA’s Governorship Primary was conducted at the State Party Secretariat in Osogbo on Tuesday and was reportedly monitored by the two representatives of INEC from their National Headquarters.
The Action Alliance (AA), at its 12 March primary election, picked Prince Adekunle Fadahunsi as the flag bearer.
In the contest held at the state party Secretariat in Osogbo, Fadahunsi polled 85 votes against his contender, Pastor Ayodeji Oni who scored 6 votes at the indirect primary election.
The ADC candidate Ifedola Olufemi emerged through a voice vote affirmation conducted by a 5-man Primary Election committee and and supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Chairman of the primary election committee Alhaji Ibrahim Suleiman said the sole candidate emerged in line with the party’s constitution, through voice vote affirmation by the over 350 delegates from across the state.
INEC has now ruled that all the three primaries failed to comply with guidelines.