The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued access codes to virtually all registered political parties to enable them upload the particulars of their candidates to its nomination portal, with the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) being the only exception as of yesterday evening.
It was learnt that all other political parties, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had received their access codes despite the subsisting court judgment involving the NDC, reports Daily Trust.
A senior official of the commission told our correspondent yesterday that INEC granted the NDC access after taking judicial notice of the party’s appeal against the court judgment and its application for a stay of execution.
According to the official, the commission’s decision was without prejudice to the final determination of the case.
“Senator Seriake, their National Leader, claimed they’ve appealed the ruling and applied for stay of execution. It’s only proper to take judicial notice of their appeal and not deny them the code. Obviously, this is without prejudice to the final outcome of the case,” the source said.
The official explained that the commission considered the pending appeal and application for a stay of execution sufficient grounds not to deny the party access to the candidate nomination portal while the matter remains before the courts.
The source further disclosed that, as of yesterday evening, virtually all registered political parties had collected their access codes from the commission.
“By the way, I’ve just confirmed that all but NNPP have collected their code,” the source added.
The access code enables political parties to upload the particulars of their candidates to INEC’s Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP) in line with the commission’s timetable for forthcoming elections.
The clarification comes amid public interest over INEC’s decision to issue the NDC with access to the portal despite the recent court ruling affecting the party.
However, the Commission maintained that granting the access code does not in any way prejudice the final outcome of the pending litigation.
