A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the South-West, Hon. Rahman Owokoniran, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately reverse the publication of candidate lists for some Local Government Areas in Lagos State and investigate officials who monitored the party’s primaries.
Owokoniran alleged that the candidate lists published by INEC for Kosofe, Eti-Osa, Badagry, Apapa and Ojo Local Government Areas do not reflect the authentic outcome of the party’s duly conducted primary elections.
According to him, the names published by the Commission are inconsistent with the findings and recommendations of the appeal committee established by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to review complaints arising from the primaries.
He disclosed that preliminary reports indicate that some INEC officials monitored the primaries at venues different from those officially approved and communicated by the ADC National Working Committee, thereby creating avoidable confusion over the authentic results.
Owokoniran explained that following petitions from aggrieved aspirants, the party constituted an appeal committee, which invited all affected contestants, reviewed documentary evidence and examined the complaints before determining the rightful winners. He said the committee’s recommendations were subsequently transmitted to the National Working Committee for appropriate action.
He maintained that only the authentic results emerging from the party’s internal review process should be officially submitted to INEC and reflected in the Commission’s records.
“INEC cannot, under the Constitution or the Electoral Act, choose candidates for political parties. Its constitutional responsibility is to recognize candidates lawfully submitted by political parties after validly conducted primaries,” he said.
Owokoniran urged the electoral commission to reconcile the reports submitted by its field officials with the lawful submissions made by the ADC, adding that INEC ought to have awaited the report of the party’s appeal committee before publishing the disputed candidate lists.
He warned that failure to promptly correct the anomaly could undermine public confidence in the electoral process and erode trust in democratic institutions.
“The integrity of our democracy depends on respecting the will of party members as expressed through transparent primary elections. Every lawful vote must count, every legitimate winner must be recognized, and every institution must faithfully discharge its constitutional responsibilities without fear or favour,” he stated.
