The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has barred the All Progressives Congress (APC) from producing candidates for any elective post in Zamfara State in the 2019 general elections.
This means no governorship, national assembly or state assembly candidates will come from the APC in Zamfara State in 2019.
The commission made this known through a letter signed by its Acting Secretary, Okechukwu Ndeche and addressed to the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole.
The electoral body said that the party failed to honour the October 7 deadline for submission of a list of its representatives from the state to it.
The Zamfara State chapter of APC had been unable to conduct primaries due to a supremacy battle between Governor Abdul’Aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa, who is also a governorship aspirant.
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The two led opposing camps that conducted parallel primaries that produced two different sets of candidates for each position.
Referring Oshiomhole to the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections released by the commission on January 9, 2018, INEC said it was not expecting the party to submit any names of candidates in Zamfara as the stipulated date of submission, October 7, had passed.
“You would note from the timetable that the conduct of party primaries is scheduled to take place between 18th August and 7th October 2018.
“Kindly also refer to the last schedule communicated by your party to the commission on the dates of party primaries nationwide, including Zamfara vide your letter Ref. APC/NHDQ/ INEC/19/18/51 dated 3rd Oct. 2018.
“However, report received from our office in Zamfara State shows that no primaries were conducted by your party in the state, Notwithstanding that our officials were fully mobilized and deployed,” the letter read in part.
Citing provisions of Section 87 and 31 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), INEC said that “the commission does not expect that your party will submit names of any candidates from Zamfara State.
“For clarity, our position is that the All Progressives Congress (APC), will not be fielding candidates for the governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly Elections in Zamfara state for the 2019 for the general elections.”
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