…Says Time for Candidate’s Replacement Has Elapsed
- Legal Expert Speaks On Implications
- ‘Go And Test Your Popularity’: Kola Ologbondiyan Reacts
For the All Progressives Congress (APC) to have a candidate in the Akwa-Ibom North-West Senatorial rerun, its candidate, Senator Godswill Akpabio who contested in the initially disputed poll must not be replaced by another candidate, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
Recall the Court of Appeal, while giving judgment in a petition filed by Akpabio challenging the declaration of Senator Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election in the senatorial district, had voided the PDP candidate’s election and ordered a rerun in the affected local government.
In an interview with a national newspaper, INEC said it would not allow the APC to replace its candidate for the rerun, stating that Akpabio must stand for the election or else the party will lose the seat without putting up a fight.
Akpabio, who is currently occupying a ministerial position as the minister of Niger Delta Affairs had last week withdrew from the rerun scheduled to take place in January 2020 in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom North-west senatorial district.
The New Diplomat had last week reported on how Akpabio, wrote a letter to the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, notifying the party of his withdrawal from the rerun, due to his current ministerial duties, and urged the party to find a replacement and send the name to INEC for approval.
However, INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Festus Okoye, said all the parties and candidates that filed valid nominations and contested the senatorial election during last general poll will be on the ballot for the rerun election in Essien Udim Local Government Area. He also said the deadline for the replacement of candidates had since elapsed.
In Okoye’s words: “In the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission fixed November 17, 2019 as the last day for substitution and/or withdrawal of candidates by political parties in accordance with Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).
“The date and period for the nomination and substitution of candidates has elapsed and no political party can withdraw or substitute its candidate or nominate or introduce a new candidate in the re-run election.
“In other words, a new candidate cannot inherit the votes warehoused from the validated votes in the other local governments and cannot participate in the re-run election in the Essien Udim Local Government Area.
“The commission is not permitted to admit and will not allow or admit any other candidate other than the candidate that contested the election that was annulled by the court,” Okoye said.
The commission assured the people of Akwa Ibom North-west Senatorial District that the rerun election will hold in Essien Udim Local Government as scheduled and the votes from the local government area will be added to the harvested and validated votes of the other local governments to determine the winner of the election.
Offering perspectives on INEC’s resolve on the rerun, an Abuja based legal practitioner, Barrister David Effiong said should Akpabio decides not to contest, the APC will lose the presence it suppose to register through the rerun in Akwa Ibom, a PDP stronghold as illustrated in the map below.
Effiong explained the legal implications of this far-reaching decision thus: “Akpabio is thus left with two options, either of which has its distinct implications. Option one: He does not stand the election and this would imply that his party, APC, would not have a candidate for the January 25 election. This might warrant his party questioning the basis for frittering away the party’s opportunity to have a footprint in Akwa Ibom state and yet wanting to retain a ministerial reward.
“Option 2: He stands for the supplementary election slated for January 25. In that case, he would need to follow through with the custom of resigning his current ministerial position prior to the commencement of campaigns. You will recall that, even under this administration, Governor Kayode Fayemi resigned his ministerial portfolio on 30th May, 2018 to enable him campaign and partake in the Ekiti state Governorship election slated for 14 July, 2018,” Effiong said.
As a political heavyweight in the PDP before decamping to his current party in 2018, many APC leaders had banked on Akpabio to deliver parts of Akwa Ibom for the party during the 2019 general elections. But far from it as it appears the state remains a hard nut to crack for the APC. With the Senatorial rerun, Akpabio now has another chance to prove his political mettle in the state.
Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, National publicity secretary of the PDP challenged Akpabio to go to Akwa Ibom and test his popularity in the re-run.
According to Ologbondiyan, if Akpabio says he his popular, let him “go and test his popularity with the electorate.”
