LR National commissioners INEC, Abubakar Alkali, Prof. Mbu Agbamuche, Chairman INEC,,Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, another National Commissioners Prof. Rhoda Gumus,and Mallam Haruna Mohammed, during INEC press conference on the new Election timetable and schedule of activities of the 2023 General election in Abuja…on Saturday
– Commission warns parties over primaries, nomination of candidates
– Parties must hold primaries between April 4 and June 3
– Atiku boasts of picking PDP presidential ticket
The political tempo rose sharply yesterday as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejigged its time table for the 2023 elections.
The elections will now take off with the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 25, 202, a week later than the February 18 date originally scheduled for it.
The governorship and state houses of assembly elections will follow two weeks later on Saturday, 11th March 2023, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said in Abuja.
The announcement came 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Electoral Bill 2022 into law.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday advised the nation’s youths to compete with elders for elective offices in 2023 rather than seek to deny them their constitutional rights to pursue their presidential ambition.
INEC, which is saddled with the responsibility of overseeing or implementing much of the Electoral Act, held what it called an extraordinary meeting on the development yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the meeting, Yakubu said the Commission decided to adjust the dates of the 2023 general election to ensure compliance with the provisions of the new law.
The notice of the elections will be published tomorrow, Monday, February 28, as required by law.
According to the refreshed election time table campaign for the presidential and National Assembly election by political parties will commence on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
Conduct of party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from them are expected to take place between Monday, April 4, 2022 and Friday, June 3, 2022.
Submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online portal for Presidential and National Assembly election is scheduled for 9.00 am on Friday 10th June, 2022 to 6.00 pm on Friday 17th June, 2022, while submission of nomination forms to INEC via the online nomination portal for governorship and state assembly elections will run from 9.00am on Friday, 1st July, 2022 to 6.00pm on Friday, 15th July, 2022.
Campaign by political parties for Presidential and National Assembly election will run between Wednesday, 28th September, 2022 and Thursday, 23rd February, 2023 while that for governorship and state assembly elections will take place between Wednesday, 12th October, 2022 and midnight of Thursday, 9th March, 2023.
On the newly signed Electoral Act, Yakubu said: “As you are aware, yesterday, Friday 25th February, 2022, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed the Electoral Bill 2022 into law.
“This is historic, being the fourth time since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in May 1999 that the Electoral Act was repealed and re-enacted.
“The 1998-1999 elections were administered by transitional decrees until the 2001 Electoral Act was passed into law.
“Then the Act was repealed and re-enacted as the Electoral Act 2002 which was in turn repealed and re-enacted in 2006, 2010 and now we have the 2022 Electoral Act.
“You may recall that in 2017, the Commission decided to establish fixed dates for general elections in Nigeria.
“This decision was based on our determination to create certainty in the electoral calendar and to enable all stakeholders in the electoral process (the electoral commission, political parties and candidates, security agencies, observers, the media, etc) to prepare adequately for elections.
“By that decision, presidential and National Assembly elections shall hold on the third Saturday of the month of February of each general election year, while governorship and state houses of assembly elections shall follow two weeks later.
“Consequently, the 2023 general election was scheduled to commence on 18th February, 2023 with the presidential and National Assembly elections, followed by the governorship and state houses of assembly elections on the 4th of March 2023.
“However, the Commission could not release the detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election, as it normally would, because of the pending enactment of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The Bill has now been signed into law.
“Therefore, the Electoral Act 2022 together with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) form the legal basis for conducting all elections in Nigeria.
“In particular, the Electoral Act provides strict timelines for the implementation of electoral activities based on the date of the general election.
“One of the significant timelines is the publication of Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for holding an election, which has now lapsed for the 2023 general election.
“Consequently, the Commission has decided to adjust the dates of the 2023 general election to ensure compliance with the provisions of the new law.
“Accordingly, the Presidential and National Assembly elections will now hold on Saturday 25th February, 2023 while the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will hold two weeks later on Saturday 11th March, 2023.
“With this adjustment, the 2023 general election is now 363 days away.
“Under the law, there are critical time-bound activities from the publication of Notice of Election to the Conduct of Polls which form the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for elections. Some of the critical activities and their dates of implementation are as follows:
“With the coming into force of the Electoral Act 2022, the Commission will work assiduously to conclude and publish new Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections that are consistent with the Act.
“These regulations and guidelines as well as manuals issued by the Commission are all part of the legal regulatory framework for elections. Their timely publication will enable all stakeholders in the electoral process to become conversant with their provisions as they prepare for the 2023 General Election.
“On this note, I wish to remind stakeholders, especially the political parties, of their responsibility to adhere strictly to the timelines in this Timetable and Schedule of Activities, as well as all other timelines established by the Commission.
“It is necessary that all political parties comply with the extant legal framework, ensure proper organisation and management of party primaries and the nomination of qualified candidates in order to prevent unnecessary litigations and rancor.”
Responding to a reporter’s question, Yakubu, said apart from the rescheduling of the election dates, the new law does not impose extra cost on the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Buhari, in accenting to the law on Friday, said it had the potentials of revolutionising the electoral process in the country even though he asked the National Assembly to amend the law by removing Section 84 (12).
This section, according to him, contravenes the rights of political office holders to vote or be voted for at political party conventions and congresses.
Presidency 2023: Atiku boasts of picking PDP presidential ticket
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday expressed confidence that he would pick the presidential ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for next year’s general election.
He also advised the nation’s youths to compete with elders for elective offices in 2023 rather than seek to deny the latter the constitutional right to pursue their presidential ambition.
Atiku who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019, said the electoral field is also opened to the younger ones to compete.
The Turaki Adamawa spoke while fielding questions from newsmen after a closed door meeting with his erstwhile boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in the latter’s penthouse within the sprawling Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
The former Vice President, who arrived at OOPL at 10.10 a.m., went into a private meeting with his host, saying “I came to see my boss.”
He, however, was silent on what was discussed during their about an hour long meeting.
“We will let you know when I declare. We will give a formal announcement. Have I ever failed to get the ticket? Let the youths compete with the elders. It is competition. It is democracy,” Atiku said.
He later proceeded to the palace of the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, in Ake, Abeokuta where he reminisced on his relationship with the people of Ogun State and Egbaland in particular.
Although Atiku did not speak about his political ambition at the palace, the revered monarch prayed that God would grant him his heart desires.
The Nation
