INEC announces conditions for political parties to substitute vice-presidential candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, June 24 announced the conditions for political parties to substitute candidates whose names have been forwarded to the commission.

For the electoral umpire, the law does not give any political party the right to replace a validly nominated candidate as it is the prerogative of the individual to be substituted.

This comes amid reports that some political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party, nominated their vice-presidential candidates as placeholders, pending the conclusion of talks for a substantive candidate to be picked.

While the former forwarded the name of Ibrahim Kabiru Masari as its vice-presidential candidate, the latter had nominated Doyin Okupe for the same position.

Reacting to the development, INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said the electoral body would take a decision in accordance with the Electoral Act.

“As far as the law is concerned and as far as the commission is concerned, the commission makes it mandatory that the moment a presidential candidate emerges, such a presidential candidate must nominate an associate who shall run with him/her as a vice-presidential candidate,” he said on Friday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

“And so, both are seen as Siamese twins; they move together, and they fall together.

“In the forms submitted by the various political parties, they submitted forms relating to their presidential candidates and they also submitted forms relating to their vice-presidential presidential candidates, and that is in compliance with the provisions of the constitution and in compliance with the provisions of the law.”