From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, issued July 15 deadline final warning to political parties to upload the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates.
INEC also urged the political parties to scrutinize the list and personal particulars of the candidates they propose to sponsor at the election to avoid any mix-up and duplication of names.
In a statement issued by National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission insisted that candidates that emerged from validly conducted primaries will be accepted.
Giving update on uploading of list and particulars of nominated candidates, the commission noted: “By the timetable and schedule of activities released by the commission, political parties that conducted valid governorship and State Assembly primaries shall upload the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates between July 1 and 15, 2022.
“We urge political parties to scrutinize the list and personal particulars of the candidates they propose to sponsor at the election to avoid any mix-up and duplication of names. Political parties are advised not to wait until the last day before uploading the list and personal particulars of their candidates.
“The Candidates Nomination Portal will shut down at 6pm July 15, 2022. Political parties that have challenges with uploading documents should contact the Commission’s Help – Desk, through the dedicated telephone lines or contact the candidate nomination centre at the Commission’s headquarters,” the statement read.
On the issuance of Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents, the commission noted: (We have been inundated with applications for CTCs of various documents. So far, 186 requests for CTCs, some running into hundreds of pages, have been processed. The Commission is working round the clock, including weekends, to attend to all such requests.”
“We wish to assure political parties, aspirants, candidates, and all applicants for CTCs of documents that their applications will be treated expeditiously and will be issued in earnest,” it promised.
The commission equally gave update on the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, announcing that it will continue nationwide pending further directives.
“The CVR will continue nationwide, and all the Resident Electoral Commissioners and Electoral Officers have been directed to continue with the exercise pending further directives from the Commission. The Commission has consistently reiterated its resolve to continue to provide electoral services to the Nigerian people and register all eligible Nigerians that are interested in registering.
“The Commission has yet again deployed additional machines to areas of pressure and will continue to serve the people of Nigeria.
“Furthermore, the case at the Federal High Court relating to the terminal date of the CVR came up on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, and based on the request of the Commission, the Court granted an accelerated hearing and adjourned the matter to Monday 4th July 2022 for hearing of the substantive matter. The Commission will give an update after court hearing next week,” the statement read.
