· Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Rivers still on top
· No election in Enugu East over killing LP candidate – INEC
The presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples party (NNPP), Peter Obi, Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso and others respectively would be battling to win the majority of the over 87m votes that are expected at Saturday’s presidential elections across the country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, made a final disclosure that a total number of 87.2 million Nigerian voters will be eligible to exercise their franchise in Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
INEC said it arrived at the number following the end of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collection window, which left several PVCs uncollected, out of the 93m Nigerian voters that completed the process.
It would be recalled that ruling APC had at a press conference last Tuesday, asked INEC to make available the total number of expected voters, following the end of the PVC collection window.
INEC which released the breakdown at a press conference held in Abuja on Thursday, stated that Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Rivers still lead in the states with the highest number of voters.
While Lagos has 6.214 million voters, Kano, 5.5 million, Kaduna 4.16 million, Katsina, 3.45 million, Rivers, 3.28 million, Ekiti remained the least with 958,052.
Meanwhile, the commission has noted that it may postpone the Enugu East senatorial district election by two weeks, following the murder of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Oyibo Chukwu.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who gave the hint, cited Section 34 of the Electoral Act, even as he noted that such postponement and relevant section of the Electoral Act can only be activated if the political party involved officially notifies the commission.
Yakubu said, “there are procedures to handling such issue. In such situation, the commission will have to countermand the senatorial district for two weeks. The section can only be activated if the party involved officially notifies the commission.”
Section 34(b) stipulates that in the case of election into a legislative House, the election shall start afresh and the political party whose candidate died may, if it intends to continue to participate in the election, conduct a fresh primary within 14 days of the death of its candidate and submit the name of a new candidate to the Commission to replace the dead candidate:
“Provided that in the case of presidential or gubernatorial or Federal Capital Territory Area Council election, the running mate shall continue with the election and nominate a new running mate,” the section read.
The Labour Party (LP) had earlier called for the postponement of the Enugu East senatorial district election, following the gruesome murder of its candidate, Hon. Oyibo Chukwu.
Recall that gunmen on Wednesday gruesomely murdered the party’s candidate, setting him ablaze along with his vehicle and killed five of his supporters who were with him inside his car at Amaechi Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area.
National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, in a statement on Thursday, noted that Labour Party campaigns and political activities had been attacked on several occasions both in Enugu state and several other states.
“This killing in Enugu state is the climax of it all. This is certainly a threat to democracy and to the 2023 general election, where candidates are not secured and are killed.
“The Labour Party is therefore calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to postpone the election in Enugu East senatorial district to enable us conduct a fresh primary and participate in the election.
“Enugu state is one of the states where our party enjoys maximum support and our candidate is on course to win the Enugu East senatorial seat in this election. We, therefore, believe that INEC should not allow people to benefit or win election through other means particularly, by silencing a candidate who is loved by his people.”
He recounted that the Labour Party has been the major target in political killings, while noting that the party has suffered in the killing of its candidates and leaders in Anambra, Kaduna, as well as the kidnapping and torturing of its senatorial candidate in Ebonyi South, Hon Linus Okorie, who was kidnapped on October 16, 2022 allegedly by the personnel of the South East Vigilante outfit, Ebubeagu.
He further recalled what happened to the party in Anambra State when the governorship candidate, Hon. Obiora Agbasimelo was kidnapped at the heart of campaign and nothing has been heard about him.
The LP Chairman, who also recalled how the party’s campaign rally in Lagos was attacked and several members were injured and their properties vandalized adding that one of the victims of that mindless attack was amputated a few days ago, warned that the development if allowed will have major consequences in the political development in Nigeria. “No electoral victory is worth the life of any person and our institutions must not allow this to become a norm.
Abure, who condoled the family of the slain senatorial candidate for the loss, called on all party members and supporters in Enugu state to remain calm even in the face of outrageous provocation and also be law abiding, as the party will do everything within its means to ensure that this killing is not swept under the carpet.