The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted allegations of tampering with documents to enable the senate president, Ahmed Lawan and Godswill Akpabio to run in the upcoming general election.
In a statement issued by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye, in Abuja the Commission noted that the duo remain rejected.
A media house in its report had accused INEC of backdating documents to recognise the duo as Senatorial Candidates.
What INEC is saying
While Mr Lawan is running for the Yobe North senatorial district, Akpabio is running for the Akwa Ibom northwest senatorial district.
In its statement, INEC noted that the commission has not recognised any of the two personalities as senatorial candidates and their forms were not published by the commission.
- The Commission said, “Not for the first time, our attention has been drawn to a story published by an online medium that the Commission has doctored, backdated and certified documents to accommodate the nominations emanating from Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts in respect of Senators Ahmed Lawan and Godswill Akpabio. Nothing can be further from the truth.
- “As evidence of the alleged role played by the Commission, a certified true copy of Form 9C uploaded by their political party and received by the Commission on 17th June 2022 when the nomination portal closed was presented.
- “For clarity, the Form EC9 (submission of names of candidates by political parties) is the Form uploaded by parties on the INEC nomination portal. This is clearly indicated on the title of the Form which was received on 17th June 2022 when the portal closed.
- “What follows is the publication of the personal particulars of nominated candidates which was done a week later. The Forms of the two personalities in question were not published by the Commission. The decision of the Commission triggered legal action 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.
As part of the ongoing case in Court, a law firm requested the Commission for a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Form EC9 submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District which we are duty bound to oblige them under the law.
“The Form was certified on 15th July 2022. If minimum care has been exercised by the promoters of the story, they would have seen the two stamps of the Commission bearing different dates on the Form. It is this Form that is now misconstrued as INEC’s endorsement.
“For the record, the Commission has not recognised any of the two personalities as a Senatorial candidate,” it added.
INEC called for responsible reportage against the unwarranted attack on INEC and its officials over a matter than could be easily fact-checked.
What you should know
- Mr Lawan and Mr Akpabio had both contested in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries of which they both lost to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
- After losing out. They both resulted in picking the senatorial tickets of the party for the Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts, respectively.
- However, Bashir Machina and Udom Ekpoudom had already respectively emerged as candidates after participating in the primaries which were supervised by INEC officials.
- Fortunately for Akpabio, the first primary conducted in the zone on May 28, 2022, was cancelled following security infractions during the primary.
- A rerun of the primary election was conducted and Mr Akpabio won the rerun poll having polled 478 votes.
- Subsequently, the names of both Lawan who did not participate in the senatorial primaries and Akpabio who won the rerun were forwarded to INEC as candidates