Lawan, Akpabio’s fate uncertain over 2023 senatorial bid

 Uncertainty surrounds Lawan and Akpabio's Senate bid in 2023.

Godswill Akpabio and Ahmed Lawan

The primary elections held in the senatorial districts of Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North were endorsed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, according to information it received from state chapters.

The electoral body recommended candidates who had been dropped by the party to file a lawsuit challenging the party's decision to disqualify them in a statement signed by Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee.

While reiterating that the commission is "funtus officio in the two cases, Okoye stated that online rumors regarding the results of certain recent political party primaries and other issues have caught the panel's attention.

"The commission's attention has been called to rumors circulating online regarding the results of several of the recent primaries held by political parties and related concerns," it read.

"In particular, charges regarding the Akwa Ibom North West and Yobe North senatorial districts have been raised in an effort to call into question the integrity of the panel.

To clear up any confusion, the commission is required by the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Constitution to keep an eye on how political parties are organized and run, including their finances, conventions, congresses, and primary elections.

"In accordance with its legal and constitutional requirements, the commission sent observers to the various constituencies and received feedback on the operation. The commission supports the reports we got from our state offices about the primaries for the Akwa Ibom North West and Yobe North Senatorial Districts.

When the names of senatorial candidates were revealed around two weeks ago, the electoral body claimed that the reason it didn't recognize the names given by the party was because he left such spaces blank.

"Its team has been working hard, even on weekends, to accommodate the barrage of requests received," INEC continued. The commission has handled 433 requests including the certification of 1,662,776 pages of documents as of Friday, July 8, 2022.

Many of them are waiting to be picked up at INEC's headquarters by some of the same applicants who have complained about the CTCs' delayed issuance.

According to Section 29(4) of the Electoral Act, anyone may apply to the Commission for a copy of a nomination form, affidavit, or any other document submitted by a candidate at an election, and the Commission must provide that person with a certified copy of the document within 14 days of receiving payment of the prescribedPUNC

"Those who request CTC of papers should make an effort to act promptly and legally. According to the statement, the Commission will keep upholding the electoral process' integrity, including expanding the use of technology to raise the legitimacy of elections.

According to The MEDIA, Machina has been in conflict over the senatorial nomination for the Yobe North district because some APC heavy hitters have been dragging the seat along with him.