The logo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been discovered missing in the ballot papers distributed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Plateau State.
INEC on Thursday began the distribution of sensitive electoral materials in the six local government areas of Plateau State ahead of Saturday’s re-run poll.
The distribution of electoral materials took place on the grounds of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Jos, the state capital.
The distribution took place in the presence of political party representatives, observers, journalists, and security officers.
However, as soon as the materials were distributed, it was revealed that the PDP logo was removed from the vote papers, whereas others such as the APC, PRP, and LP were present.
The development has caused tension in the area, as members of the PDP who gathered to witness the distribution of the election materials were seen protesting the non-inclusion of their party while accusing INEC of acting against the Court of Appeal decision, which said that all parties shall contest in the re-run.
Members of the PDP and their supporters in Plateau State staged a protest on Wednesday at the INEC headquarters in Jos over the alleged exclusion of the party in the forthcoming re-run election scheduled for February 3, 2023, but officials of the electoral body assured them that the issue would be taken care of.
The demonstrators requested proof of the PDP’s inclusion on the ballot for the Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, where the re-run would take place on Saturday.
Before the protests, there were rumours that the PDP and its candidates would not participate in the re-run poll following the Court of Appeal’s decision to nullify the elections in the two constituencies previously won by the party’s candidates: Senator Simon Mwadkwon for Plateau North and Musa Agah for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.
The Court of Appeal justified the nullification of their elections on the basis that the PDP that nominated them as candidates had no structure.
INEC declared Agah and Mwadkw the victors of the February 2023 National Assembly Elections for Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, respectively, although their elections were nullified.
The petitions against the PDP and its candidates that succeeded at the Appeal Court were filed by LP’s Plateau North Senatorial Candidates, Gyang Zi, and PRP’s Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency Candidate, Mohammad Adam Alkali, and the Appellate Court ordered rerun elections in the two constituencies.
In accordance with the Court of Appeal order, INEC set February 3rd, 2024, as the date for the rerun.
