The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has included the All Progressives Congress, APC, on its national assembly and governorship election ballots following a court ruling.
In a statement by Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, the electoral body has consistently maintained that it will always obey court judgments and orders.
“In the case of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Zamfara State High Court issued conflicting orders relating to the participation of the APC in the two strands of elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March 2019,” Okoye said in a statement.
“While the former ruled that the APC, having failed to conduct party primaries cannot field candidates in the said election, the latter decided that it can field candidates having conducted valid party primaries.
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He explained that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division on 21 February 2019 set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja for “lack or want of jurisdiction on the part of the lower court.”
“This in effect means that the Zamfara State High Court’s decision that the APC can field candidates for the National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections is the only valid and subsisting order.”
He said consequently, the Commission has today, in compliance with the said order, restored the APC to the ballot in the National Assembly, governorship and state house of assembly elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March 2019.
