APC National Convention: ‘Why INEC Must Not Interfere’

The People’s Democratic Party has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against interfering with Saturday’s national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

PDP noted that monitoring the campaign would be a violation of the body’s statutory mandate under the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022

PDP, in a statement by Debo Ologunagba, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, urged INEC not to waste public funds by monitoring the convention.

According to Ologunagba: “INEC, being a government agency set up by law, that also draws from the budgetary allocation of the country with respect to superintending over electoral processes and management of political parties, can only superintend over and monitor bodies over which it has mandate to supervise. This presupposes that any such body must be legally operating as a political party under INEC rules and guidelines.

“The APC, having been defunct on December 8, 2020 when it dissolved its National, States as well as Local Government structures, ceases, in the eyes of the law, to be a political party and as such cannot be subject of INEC’s regulations with particular reference to its supposed National Convention.

“For emphasis, the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) was established for the singular purpose of organizing the APC National Convention in 2020. The Committee violated the Constitution and the Electoral Act by engaging in party administration, conducting congresses to produce officers at the various state Chapters as well as delegates for APC National Convention.”

This article was originally published on Nigeria News