The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has faulted the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it planned to disqualify its candidate for the November 16 governorship election in the state.
The PDP had alleged that INEC was working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to delist its Kogi state governorship candidate, Musa Wada.
Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, told Daily Trust that it was not in the nature of the commission to collude with a political party to disqualify a candidate of another political party for any election.
“To be sure, the commission’s actions at all times have always been guided by the provisions of the 1999 Constitutions (as amended) and the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended).
“The grounds for disqualifying nominated candidates for different levels of elections are well stated in the law and INEC cannot possibly act outside what the law stipulates. To that extent, the allegation by the PDP is false and completely baseless,” Oyekanmi said.
PDP National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan had while addressing newsmen, said there was plan to make the APC candidate, Governor Yahaya Bello, the sole candidate for the governorship election in the state.
PDP also alleged that the APC-led government had pencilled down 30 opposition leaders for arrest and detention ahead of the election.
“The PDP in the strongest terms, cautions INEC and the APC not to, in anyway, attempt to alter INEC’s Monitoring Report on our governorship primary in Kogi State or attempt to tamper with our record of submission of candidate for the November 16 governorship election.
“The PDP’s warning is predicated on intelligence available to the national secretariat of our great party of plots by known INEC officers and certain APC leaders to alter INEC’s Monitoring Report and delist our candidate, all in their desperate, but sure to fail, bid to make Governor Yahaya Bello a sole candidate and deny the people of Kogi State their desire to vote in Engr. Musa Wada as their next governor.
“Of course this plot is dead on arrival as our candidate, Engr. Musa Wada, remains duly nominated through the statutory processes of our primary, which was well covered in the monitoring report released by INEC. The PDP cautions that any attempt to tamper with his candidature will trigger the wrath of the people,” PDP said.
