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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said that it did not recognize Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senate President Ahmad Lawan as candidates of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 general election.
Recall that Akpabio and Lawan had contested the senatorial seats after failing to win the party’s presidential election.
The APC listed both men as senatorial candidates but the electoral body has dismissed the submission.
Responding to speculations on Tuesday that both men have been recognized by INEC, the electoral umpire in a statement titled ‘Spurious Allegations in Respect of Nomination of Candidates in Some Senatorial Districts’, debunked the claims.
INEC in the statement issued by Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner, said the case was pending in court and the status quo will be maintained.
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The statement read, “For the record, the commission has not recognised any of the two personalities as a senatorial candidate.
“We call for responsible reportage as against the unwarranted attack on the commission and its officials over a matter than can be easily fact-checked,” the statement read.
According to the commission, the APC uploaded Form 9C on June 17, 2022, when the deadline had passed.
The commission added, “The forms of the two personalities in question were not published by the commission. The decision of the commission triggered legal actions which are still ongoing. It therefore defies logic and common sense to go around and submit doctored documents purportedly recognising the duo as candidates when the matter is clearly sub-judice.”
Source: Punch