INEC Denies Disqualifying APGA From Anambra Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied disqualifying the ruling party in Anambra, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), from participating in the November 6 governorship election in the state.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Publicity and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, denied the report during Channels TV’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme monitored by THE WHISTLER on Friday.

Okoye said, “There was no paragraph of the letter that talks about disqualification.”

Reports of the disqualification came after the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Chukwuma Soludo, had emerged as the governorship candidate of APGA.

Soludo, on Wednesday, won the primary election organised by a faction of the party led by Chief Victor Oye.

Okoye clarified, “The Independent National Electoral Commission monitored that particular congress where this nomination was made. However, what this commission did was that the commission received two letters; one letter from a legal practitioner- a law firm and also wrote one letter to the National Chairman of APGA.

“In one of the letters, the legal practitioner asked the commission for a copy of our monitoring report in relation to the ward delegate congress that the political party conducted and we said we didn’t monitor that delegate congress and we don’t have any report to give than the secretary to the commission also wrote a letter to the National Chairman of APGA drawing his attention to the fact that the party submitted the delegates list to the commission, but that the commission did not monitor the processes relating to that particular delegates list and as a regulatory body the commission has the constitutional and legal rir=ght to issue such letter to the party because we are a regulatory body… that was exactly what we did.

“There was nowhere in that particular letter where the commission said that APGA will not participate in the November 6, governorship election.”

But Okoye said the issue was that INEC did not monitor the party’s congress where delegates were nominated, hence the reason for its notice to the party.

He also said that INEC was satisfied with the primary it monitored which saw Soludo emerge as winner.

Prior to INEC’s clarification, INEC said APGA failed to adhere to the provisions of Section 85 of the Act.

APGA was accused of not notifying the electoral body when it held its ad hoc congress to elect delegates for the party’s governorship primary on July 1.

According to Okoye, APGA was bound to notify the body prior to the congress.

Meanwhile, the Chief Jude Okeke-led National Working Committee said the flag bearer was suspended from the party a day before the primary for anti-party activities.

The Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, had on Monday stated that the Oye-led faction refused to submit the statutory 21 days notice on the special ward congress to the commission .

A letter dated June 18, 2021 and signed by INEC secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said, “This is to inform you that the commission did not receive the statutory 21 days’ notice for the nomination of APGA Anambra State governorship candidate from Victor Oye- led APGA.

“Accordingly, the commission did not monitor the said ward congress and as such, there is no monitoring report of the Commission.

“The Commission wishes to emphasize the need for full compliance with all legal requirements for the conduct of Party Primaries as earlier communicated in the Commission’s letter to your Party dated 37 June 2021 (REF: INEC/DEPM/UPPM/119/1/37.”