THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is standing by the report of its monitoring team and as a result would not publish the name and particulars of any candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial District.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Festus Okoye made this known in a statement on Thursday.
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Okoye said the attention of the Commission had been drawn to a counter affidavit purportedly filed in the Federal High Court, Damaturu Judicial Division, relating to the primary election in Yobe North.
“Notwithstanding the matter in court and without prejudice to the consideration or likely outcome of the case in court, the Commission reiterates its earlier position that it stands by the report of its monitoring team and it was on the basis of that report that the Commission did not publish the name and personal particulars of any candidate for the Yobe North Senatorial District. ”
He added that the Commission has also instructed the external counsel briefed to handle the matter to reflect the correct position, which aligns with the report submitted by its monitoring team.
“Consequently, the Commission will review its quality assurance protocols, including the preview by appropriate ranking officials of all processes filed on its behalf to ascertain their correctness in all material particulars with all reports and all information at its disposal before their presentation so that a situation like this is not repeated.”
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via niyioyedeji1@gmail.com. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.