Kogi PDP accuses INEC of double standard

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of double standard over its acknowledgement that it registered the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, twice in violation of the Electoral Act.

The party in a statement issued yesterday in Lokoja by its Publicity Secretary, Prince Bode Ogunmola, said the development was a vindication of the party’s earlier stance on the voter’s registration status of Governor Bello, adding that the APC-led government in Kogi was “foisted on the people of the state”.

“It is not untrue that Yahaya Bello was not legally qualified and had no moral standing to run for election in Kogi State, in the first place, since he was not a registered voter in the state.

“It was not for nothing that some of his party members were not happy and openly disagreed with the way the national body of the APC imposed his gubernatorial candidature on them. The state is presently groaning under a leadership that has no place in moral justice.

“Our party is taken aback by the revelation that Yahaya Bello registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday, 23rd May, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja. This, to us, smacks of double-standard on the part of the electoral body”.

“The questions INEC need to ask itself are: Did the officer(s) of the commission that registered Yahaya Bello for the second time not know that he had earlier claimed to be a registered voter? Does it mean that INEC has no record of voters in its data bank, thus allowing double registration? No doubt, somebody is not ready to stand by the truth somewhere.

“We expect that this outright violation of electoral law will not be swept under the carpet as the Electoral Act adequately prescribes the appropriate penalty for anyone that violates the law.

“It is, therefore, not enough to cancel the second registration without ensuring that the necessary penalty is meted out,” Ogunmola said in the statement.