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Supreme Court pronouncement on Zamfara APC will determine our next move, INEC says

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Paucity of funds may affect conduct of Bayelsa, Kogi polls - INEC

The pronouncement of the Supreme Court will determine the next move concerning the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, so says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

That much was revealed in Abuja by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

According to Okoye, the commission was law-abiding and it will wait for the pronouncement of the Supreme Court before taking any further action after it withheld certificates of return of the state Governor-elect, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto.

He said, “The Independent National Electoral Commission is a law-abiding institution. It is the policy of the commission to obey court orders and court decisions.

“The commission took the decision to exclude the candidates of the All Progressives Congress from the list of nominated candidates on the grounds that the party did not conduct primary elections.

Read also: ZAMFARA: INEC to wait for Supreme Court’s decision

“The party has taken the matter to the Supreme Court and it is only rational and prudent to wait for the decision of the Supreme Court before proceeding. The commission took a cautionary approach in suspending further issuance of certificates of return to the members-elect of the state assembly, the deputy governor-elect and the governor-elect. The commission will abide by the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter.”

Okoye added, “The commission does not have any interest in who becomes the governor of Zamfara State but is only interested in the processes and procedures leading to the declaration of results and issuance of certificates of return.

“We are confident that the Supreme Court will conclude the hearing of the matter and deliver its judgment before the inauguration of elected members of the national and state assemblies.

“We believe that the people of Zamfara State deserve to know who their governor and representatives are before the terminal date of this regime.

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