The
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, released the final
list of presidential and National Assembly candidates of all the political
parties contesting the February 25 elections.
The publication of the final list of candidates for national elections
(presidential, senatorial and federal constituencies) was pursuant to section
32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and item 8 of the Timetable and Schedule of
Activities for the 2023 General Election.
It
was also sequel to the display of the personal particulars of all nominated
candidates in their constituencies nationwide as provided by section 29(3) of
the Electoral Act. INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and
Chairman, Voter Education, Festus Okoye, had earlier said validly nominated
candidates had the opportunity to voluntarily withdraw their candidature by
notice in writing and personally deliver such notices to the political parties
that nominated them for the election.
Okoye said, “Thereafter, political parties substituted such candidates under
section 31 of the Electoral Act for which the last day was 15th July 2022 for
national elections and 12th August, 2022, for state elections as clearly
provided in item 6 of the Commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities.
“Thereafter, no withdrawal or substitution of candidates is allowed except in
the event of death as provided in section 34(1) of the Electoral Act or
pursuant to an order of a Court of competent jurisdiction.”
The
list published contains the names of candidates validly nominated for national
elections at the close of the parties’ primaries and the period earmarked for the withdrawal and substitution of candidates.
The
presidential candidates of PDP, Atiku Abubakar; APC, Bola Tinubu; Labour Party,
Peter Obi; and New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, were on the final
list.
Similarly on the presidential list were Oluwafemi Adenuga, presidential
candidate of Boot Party (BP) and the running mate Turaku Mustapha; Daberechukwu
Nwanyanwu, presidential candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the running
mate, Ramalan Abubakar; Dumebi Kachikwu presidential candidate, African
Democratic Congress (ADC) and his running mate, Ahmed Mani; Hamsa Almustafa,
presidential candidate, Action Alliance (AA) and his running mate, Chukwuka
Johnson, among others.
The list published contained the names of Senator Goodwill Akoabio from Akwa Ibom state and Senator Peter Nwaobishi of Delta State as well as Bashir Machina, who replaced the senate president, Ahmed Lawan.
Akpabio replaced former retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ekpuudom,
while Nwaoboshi, who was convicted for seven years by the Court of appeal in
Lagos, is also on the list.
48 Million Out of 93.5 Million
Eligible Voters are Youths, INEC Reveals
INEC
disclosed that youths formed the highest number of registered voters who would
vote in the February and March elections. National Commissioner at INEC in
charge of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, stated
this during the commission’s engagement with identified groups on the role of
the youth ahead of the 2023 general election.
Okoye said from INEC’s records, the youth held all the aces to determine the
outcome of the 2023 elections. He said out of a total of 9,518,756 valid newly
registered voters between June 28, 2021 and July 31, 2022, those aged between
18 and 34 years of age were 7,286,871, representing 76.56 per cent.
Disclosing
further that the total of registered voters for the general election was 93.5
million, Okoye said of the 84 million registered voters recorded for the 2019
general election, the youth population, which included males and females, was
51 per cent.
He urged the youths to ensure that they cast their votes on election day,
emphasising that it is only when they do so that they would determine who would
lead them.
Okoye explained that the electoral process would be strictly technology-driven, adding that the commission has already deployed technology in all its processes.
He said, “The commission had already taken delivery of the full number of the
Bimodal Voter’s Accreditation System, for the conduct of the election in the
176,846 polling units across the federation. Additional BVAS for contingencies
would be deployed to the 8,809 registration areas across the country.
“The
BVAS were designed to function offline, and, that only accredited voters would
be allowed to cast votes on the day of the polls. “Only registered voters, who
present their Permanent Voters Cards at the polling unit, would be accredited
to vote.
“Over 1.4 million ad-hoc election staff had been engaged by the commission for the conduct of the 2023 general election, and insurance policy had been secured for them against hazards of the election, especially possible attack.
“Punishment for any act of electoral offence against electoral officers has
been made stiffer in the current 2022 Electoral Act (as amended) than the
provisions in the previous 2010 Electoral Act (as amended).”
Okoye advised any ad-hoc staff who might not be ready to resist the temptations
of election rigging antics to withdraw from conducting the exercise.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of Anambra State, Mrs.
Queen Elizabeth Agwu, urged the youth to brace up for the challenges of
ensuring that the election was conducted free of thuggery and any other
electoral malpractices.
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