Weeks To Kogi Election, Court Rejects 2 Guber Candidates

 

Two governorship candidates in the forthcoming Kogi election have been rejected by a Federal High Court in Abuja affirming the stand of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court, according to The Nation, upheld INEC’s decision to reject the candidates of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). 

Presiding judge in the case, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, reportedly delivered two judgments on Friday, October 25, affirming INEC’s decision to reject the candidates. The court’s decision was based on the grounds that they were statute barred. 

According to Justice Ojukwu, INEC took its decision based on its constitutional powers to reject the candidates after finding that both parties failed to comply with its deadline for the submission of candidates’ lists and nomination forms. 

It was earlier reported that 14 political parties were disqualified by INEC from participating in the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states for fielding invalid candidates. The disclosure was made in a statement in Abuja by the INEC national commissioner, Festus Okoye, on Friday, September 

Okoye, chairman of the commission’s information and voter education committee, said eight of the parties were disqualified in Kogi, while six were disqualified in Bayelsa.