At last, The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has added the candidates of the Zamfara State All Progressives Congress, APC, on the ballot.
In a statement shared today by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye, INEC disclosed that APC’s candidates can now partake in Saturday’s election.
Recall that the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Zamfara State High Court had dished out conflicting orders as per the party’s participation in the Zamfara State election.
The Abuja high court ordered the APC to not present any candidate while the Zamfara state High Court gave them the go ahead.
However, INEC came out today to state that they has relisted the All Progressives Congress on the ballot after the judgement of the court of appeal which ruled out the ruling of the Abuja High court.
The statement read, “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has consistently maintained that it will always obey court judgments and orders,”
“In the case of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Zamfara State High Court issued conflicting orders relating to the participation of the APC in the two strands of elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March 2019.
“While the former ruled that the APC, having failed to conduct party primaries cannot field candidates in the said election, the latter decided that it can field candidates having conducted valid party primaries.
“However, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division on 21st February 2019 set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja for ‘lack or want of jurisdiction on the part of the lower court.’ This in effect means that the Zamfara State High Court’s decision that the APC can field candidates for the National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections is the only valid and subsisting order.
“Consequently, the Commission has today, in compliance with the said order, restored the APC to the ballot in the National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March 2019.”
