By Stephen Okechukwu
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of preventing it from
nominating its candidates after allegedly refusing to provide the access code
needed to upload their names to the commission’s online nomination portal.
The party made the allegation as it prepares to challenge a
Federal High Court judgment directing INEC to deregister it.
Speaking on the development, the NDC’s National Spokesman,
Osa Director, said the party had taken the required steps to complete the
nomination process but was unable to do so because INEC did not release the
access credentials needed to access the portal.
According to him, party officials visited
the electoral commission to obtain the code but were told they would be
contacted later. He said that response left the party unable to complete the
mandatory online submission of its candidates before the court issued the order
for its deregistration.
“We approached INEC to collect the access
code to upload the names of our candidates to the INEC portal. They told us
they would get back to us,” he said.
Director insisted that the party should
not be blamed for failing to upload its candidates, arguing that the delay was
caused by the commission’s inability to provide the required access code.
He also disclosed that the NDC would
return to INEC to make another request while taking legal action to stop the
implementation of the court ruling.
According to him, the party expects to
file an application for a stay of execution to prevent the deregistration from
taking effect while the matter is being contested in court.
“We will go back there tomorrow. I
believe that by tomorrow we must have filed a stay of execution in court,” he
said.
The latest
development adds a fresh twist to the legal and political battle surrounding
the NDC, with the party maintaining that it remains determined to defend its
status through the courts while seeking another opportunity to complete its
candidates’ nomination process.
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