The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the 18 approved political parties under the umbrella of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) will today meet in Abuja to deliberate on election matters and adjustments of election timetable initially released by the commission.
The outcome of the meeting will determine if there will be adjustments to the timetable or not.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the 18 approved political parties under the umbrella of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) will today meet in Abuja to deliberate on election matters and adjustments of election timetable initially released by the commission.
INEC had reviewed its schedules for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria in February after the President Buhari assented to the 2022 Electoral Act.
In compliance with the new Electoral Acts, the commission fixed April 4 to June 3 for the election of flag bearers of all political parties for the 2023 elections.
Political parties under the aegis of IPAC and political actors have continued to mount pressure on the commission to extend the June 3 deadline for the primaries.
Meanwhile, the civil society organisations and prominent Nigerians, including a former chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, have warned the commission against yielding to the demands of the political parties.
Jega said shifting the deadline would be a recipe for disaster.
IPAC, during a parley with the INEC held earlier this month urged the commission to shift the deadline by 37 days.
IPAC chairman , Yabagi Sani, accused the commission of not carrying leadership of political parties along while designing the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 elections.
Sani made reference to Salah break, forthcoming Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections, could affect a strict and smooth compliance with the timetable.
A chieftain of the APC, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, had accused INEC of endangering the conduct of the 2023 general elections with what he alleged to be its “plots and partisan interests”.
While warning of looming danger from the “tight INEC schedule of primaries imposed on political parties in the country”, he said the commission’s schedule “has been influenced purely by a section of the political elites who have positioned themselves to benefit from this INEC calendar.”
According to him, it was not the business of INEC to fix dates of primaries in as much as the primaries were conducted 180 days before the election in accordance with the provision of extant law.
But responding, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the extant laws give INEC the power, as a regulator of political parties, to determine when party primaries should take place.
Oyekanmi told journalists that the extension being sought by parties, if granted, would disrupt the planning template for the 2023 general election with dire consequences.
He said, “The timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election was released as far back as February this year, one full year ahead of the election. The conduct of primaries was fixed for April 4 – June 3, 2022.
“The extant laws, indeed, give INEC the power, as a regulator of political parties, to determine when party primaries should take place, contrary to the gentleman’s view. It is quite obvious that he has not read the Electoral Act, which is quite disappointing)
“The INEC Chairman had, on at least three occasions, urged the political parties to conduct their primaries within the stipulated timeline, as no extension will be entertained.
“The extension being sought, if granted, would disrupt the planning template for the 2023 general election, with dire consequences.
“Why is it that the parties cannot conduct their primaries within two months (April and May)? Interestingly, none of them complained about the timeline for party primaries when the timetable was released in February. Why now?”