By Wilfred Eya, Romanus Ugwu and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) on Friday shook the nation’s polity when it reneged on its earlier stance not to extend the deadline for the conduct of political parties’ primaries for the 2023 general elections.
In what seemed like a volte-face, the electoral umpire shifted its June 3 deadline to June 9, a clear six days extension from the earlier date.
Without doubt, the development in the estimation of many has unsettled the two main parties: the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that were billed to hold their national conventions last weekend.
The action has not only created an air of uncertainty, but has also provoked many conspiracy theories ahead of next year’s general elections.
Many political observers are wondering why INEC took the decision when the two parties had already started the preliminary processes of their primaries with many of their delegates already in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, for the exercise.
Earlier, the country’s 18 registered political parties through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) had asked the commission to review its timetable and schedule of activities to extend the deadline from June 3 to July 4 to afford member parties enough time to put their houses in order.
But the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu turned down the appeal, saying that any attempt to review the timeline as requested by IPAC would alter the rest of the schedule of activities ahead of the 2023 polls.
His words: “I hereby reiterate the position of the Commission that there will be no review of the timelines. There are so many inter-related activities that are associated with the timelines which must be carried out.
“Any review to extend the timeline for one activity will affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the commission. This will ultimately result in more complications than what the extension seeks to achieve. Therefore, the Commission will not review the timelines.”
In February, INEC had reviewed its schedules for the 2023 general elections after President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the 2022 Electoral Act.
It was in compliance with the new Electoral Acts that the commission fixed April 4 to June 3 for the election of standard bearers of all political parties for the 2023 elections
Following the uncompromising position of INEC on its set timeline, many wondered why it capitulated at the eleventh hour when the APC and PDP had planned the execution of their primaries based on the stance of the electoral umpire.
Without mincing words, many believe that the INEC turn-around has substantially affected the scheduled conventions of the two main parties.
While the ruling party was quick to extend its own primaries to between June 6-8, the main opposition party said it would go ahead with its own schedule despite the fact that some PDP leaders have started pushing for the postponement of the party’s national convention.
The proponents argued that it was not in the interest of the opposition party to conduct its presidential primary before the APC.
According to them, if the PDP picks its presidential candidate more than one week to the APC primary, it will enable the ruling party assess the strength and weakness of the opposition party candidate and, therefore, choose a more formidable candidate that can swing victory to the party.
PDP leaders had a marathon meeting on Saturday morning, apparently to decide whether or not to proceed with the convention.
But the opposition party later resolved to proceed with the exercise despite the extension of the deadline for primaries.
In a statement, its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said that he would not be distracted by what he called the alleged underhand dealing by the APC.
Part of the statement reads: “The PDP as a party of due process has since commenced processes to elect our presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections in line with our mission to rescue and rebuild our nation from misrule.
“Our party remains focused and will not be distracted by the shenanigans and underhand dealings of the rudderless, deceitful and manipulative All Progressives Congress (APC), which is desperate to orchestrate uncertainties, derail the electoral process and subvert the will of the people in the 2023 general elections.
“The PDP 2022 Special National Convention is already on course, our presidential candidate, national delegates, teeming members of our great party and Nigerians from across the country are set for the National Convention, which will at the end, credibly and transparently deliver a presidential candidate who will be the choice of majority of Nigerians in the 2023 general elections.
“The PDP, therefore, charges our members, swarming supporters, the international community, election monitors and the general public to disregard and completely discountenance suggestions that the 2022 Special National Convention has been postponed.
“The APC is fighting a lost battle as its resort to manipulations and underhand dealings can never sway Nigerians in their determination to vote out the APC in 2023 and commence the rebuilding of our nation on the platform of the PDP.”
In all, the calculation of critical observers is that the extension comes with a lot of implications on the fortunes of the two political parties.
Having extended the date for its primaries, the APC would now have more time to plan and put its house in order unlike the PDP.
The development has thrown up a conspiracy theory that the ruling party may be enjoying some privileges from the INEC and may have been privy that the electoral umpire would extend the timeline for primaries.
Those who hold the view insisted that if not, how come President Muhammadu Buhari left the country to participate in the African Union Extra-ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and leaving a crucial event like the special convention of his party.
Another theory is also that the extension was influenced by the APC for more time to rein in some erring aspirants who are still resisting the idea of reaching a consensus on who picks the ticket of the party.
Many argued that the ruling party having extended its primaries would now be in a vantage position to assess the candidate that would emerge in the PDP and determine its standard bearer as a counter-balancing measure.
In that case, it would form the basis of its strategy on zoning with the idea that if a Northerner emerges in the PDP, the ruling party would also most likely work toward giving its ticket to an aspirant from the same region.
So, part of the gains in the deadline extension is that whereas the ruling party has a about a week to tweak its strategies, the main opposition is would not have that luxury.
Some even argued that as a party that is not in power, the PDP could not afford to shift its own primaries because of the cost of logistics already paid for unlike the APC which is currently in government.
There is also another theory that the extension is to create time for the Supreme Court to rule on the subsisting case instituted by the Federal Government and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on the Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act.
The controversial clause in the Electoral Amendment Act 2022, provides that “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
In the projection of many, if the Supreme Court rules in favour of the plaintiffs, it would further boost the influence of some power brokers in the ruling party ahead of the rescheduled primaries.
Those who understand the dynamics of the nation’s politics, argue that APC presidential aspirants would not benefit from the extension.
Sunday Sun learnt that many of them had already concluded and deployed the logistics for the primaries and may find it difficult to sustain the confidence and loyalty of the delegates for an extra one week.
Speaking on the development, the Transition Monitoring Group has berated the INEC for extending the deadline for the conduct of primary elections and submission of the list of nominated candidates for the 2023 polls from 4th to 9th of June.
Chairman of the foremost election monitoring group, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in a statement yesterday, lamented the extension, noting that the group received the news with great worries and concerns.
He said that at a time when Nigerians were beginning to have confidence in the electoral umpire, some powerful forces were trying to undermine and subject it to pressure to do their biddings.
Rafsanjani stated: “A lot of political parties have made efforts in conducting their primaries and if the ruling party is still uncertain about the day to conduct its presidential primary elections that shouldn’t be the basis for the extension.”
But the INEC said the adjustment will not affect the overall timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general elections.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the Commission’s Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification due to what he described as the misinterpretation and criticisms that have trailed the extension.
“What we have in the 2023 general election timetable as deadline for the conduct of party primaries is 3rd June. The next activity – submission of Forms EC9A etc – is from 9th to 17th June (Presidential and National Assembly); and 1st to 15th July (Governorship and State Aseembly). Nothing was fixed between 4th to 9th June.
“Now, the parties said, give us this window of 4th to 9th June, to enable us conclude outstanding primaries. The Commission looked at it – since nothing was fixed for that period, the parties might as well be granted a concession, like a middle ground of some sort. Don’t forget that the political parties initially asked for a concession of 37 – 60 days! The Commission refused.
“Overall, in the real sense, nothing has been altered in the 2023 election timetable. It remains exactly the same. You might say that INEC extended the deadline, but when you look at the overall picture, the 2023 general election timetable has not changed!” Rotimi explained.
