INEC writes Secondus, recognises Kashamu’s faction of Ogun PDP, candidates

Party faults commission’s recognition of factional aspirants

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, to notify him of the commission’s decision to accept the list of candidates submitted to it by the Bayo Dayo-led State Executive for the 2019 general elections.

The lingering crisis within the Ogun State PDP has resulted in producing two governorship candidates for the 2019 general elections.

While the Buruji Kashamu faction produced Adeleke Shitu as the party’s governorship candidate, the other faction produced Ladipupo Adebutu as its candidate.

But INEC, in a letter signed by the Acting Secretary of the Commission, Okechukwu Ndeche, dated October 28, 2018 and received by the office of the National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus, on October 30, 2018, INEC said it acted in line with the orders of the Federal High Courts, which ordered the commission to recognise and receive the list of candidates of Dayo-led state exco.

The letter, titled “Nomination of Candidates for 2019 General Elections in Ogun State”, a copy of which was obtained by The

Guardian yesterday, stated: “INEC will abide by the orders of the courts and go ahead to accept the list and publish names of candidates from Dayo’s faction of Ogun PDP for the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections next year until the orders of the FHCS (Federal High Courts) are set aside.”

Meanwhile, the PDP has faulted the decision of INEC to recognise only candidates submitted to it by the camp loyal to Kashamu, representing Ogun East Senatorial District.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned that INEC could not take a list from elsewhere after it had already acknowledged the list of candidates submitted to it by the national leadership of the party.

He described the decision ofthe the outgoing commission PSN president to accept a list from Dayo’s camp as strange and alien to the extant laws because only the national secretary of a partyby law can submit candidates’ list.

He said: “If INEC claimed that it collected any list outside what the national secretariat of PDP submitted to it, it is a huge compromise. And we say so according to our statutes and all the laws governing elections in Nigeria, INEC cannot take a list from a state of the party. INEC takes list from the national headquarters of the party.”