APC replies INEC on Zamfara, stands firm on fielding candidates in 2019

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it will field candidates for all elective positions in Zamfara in the 2019 general election despite its disqualification by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Lanre Issa-Onilu, the party’s national publicity secretary, said this in reaction to the statement of Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, on the issue.

Yakubu on Monday said the commission stands by its decision to bar APC from fielding candidates for all elective positions in Zamfara for failing to conduct primaries within the time stipulated in the election timetable.

The electoral body had earlier written to the APC, notifying it of its inability to conduct primaries for the 2019 polls in accordance with the commission’s approved deadline of October 7.

The APC spokesman, however, said: “INEC cannot say that we don’t have candidates for election until the deadline has expired.

“We have options of consensus, direct and indirect primaries and we are going to apply, like we have done in other states, our energies, time and concerns to pick our candidates.

“I can assure you that before the October 18 deadline, we are going to meet all INEC requirements and we are going to submit names of all the candidates for not only Zamfara but the 36 states and the FCT.”

Issa-Onilu also dismissed the suggestion that the party might sue INEC, saying: “It is not yet something for the party to take legal action. Nothing calls for that. We would not be reacting to what INEC said in the public.”

He explained that after the party got a letter from INEC, it replied but was yet to receive a response from the commission.

“We are on the side of the law, we had a primary in Zamfara. We are operating within the guidelines of INEC and the constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria,” he said.

“We believe that INEC does not have the correct information on what happened in Zamfara and this we have stated in our letter to the commission. They haven’t replied our letter.

“We also ask INEC that if they need more information from us, that we will be ready to offer it.”