• Commission up to mischief, says faction
THE Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained its role at last weekend's Nassarawo/Binyeri Assembly by-election in Adamawa State, where it supervised two separate primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a development that is now the subject of controversy in the party.
Fielding questions from selected journalists in Yola Wednesday, INEC's Resident Commissioner, Kassim G. Gaidam, said the action was to ensure peace in the state, noting that it was not the commission's constitutional responsibility to decide for the party who bears its flag.
"I received a letter from the national secretariat of the PDP, signed by the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and Acting National Secretary, Onwe S. Onwe, on April 10, 2013, but the letter did not specify the venue or the state chairman recognised by the national secretariat of PDP," he said.
"So, as a neutral body, we have to supervise the primaries of both factions and send our report. It is now left for the national secretariat of the party to decide the name to submit to INEC."
According to him, Section 31 (1) of the amended Electoral Act empowers all political parties to submit to INEC candidates of their choice, as well as directs the commission not to reject any candidate submitted by any registered political party, since nomination of candidates was the sole responsibility of political parties.
Gaidam maintained that since the letter did not give the office address of the chairman of the party in the state or name of the PDP boss, INEC had to cover both primaries and leave the party's national secretariat to decide which primary was acceptable to it.
However, secretary of the Mijinyawa Kugama-led faction, Mr. Philneas P. Elisha, accused INEC of double standard in handling the PDP affairs in the state, wondering how the commission, which had been communicating with them through letters based on the party's address with INEC, now claimed not to know the address.
Quoting from the PDP Constitution 2012 as amended, he said the Joel Madaki-led primary election was conducted with the 1999 PDP Constitution, which he noted violated the party's elections guidelines, adding that it was not only null and void, but also an exercise with no legal backing.
Elisha further argued that there was only one PDP chairman in the state since the National Working Committee (NWC), headed by the National Vice Chairman, Sam Jaja, had reinstated the Kugama-led executive and there was no document or another decision countering the action of the NWC.
Meanwhile, The Guardian learnt that the Kugama-led executive has concluded arrangements for a legal battle with the Madaki-led executive committee over the election.
The Guardian