From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, reiterated its resolve that Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, were ineligible to contest next year’s election as senatorial candidates of Yobe North and Akwa-Ibom North West respectively.

INEC equally dismissed report that it had succumbed to pressure from the All Progressives Congress (APC), and backdated documents to recognise both as their senatorial candidates.

The report published, yesterday morning claimed that: “INEC succumbs to pressure from ruling APC, backdates documents to recognise Lawan, Akpabio as senatorial candidates.”

But INEC, in a statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, described it as spurious allegations.

In the statement entitled: “Spurious allegations in respect of nomination of candidates in some senatorial districts,” INEC clearly declared that: “for the record, the commission has not recognised any of the two personalities as a senatorial candidate.

“Not for the first time, our attention has been drawn to a story published by an online medium that the commission has doctored, backdated and certified documents to accommodate the nominations emanating from Yobe North and Akwa Ibom North West senatorial districts in respect of Lawan and Akpabio. Nothing can be further from the truth.

“As evidence of the alleged role played by the commission, a certified true copy of Form 9C uploaded by their political party and received by the commission on June 17, 2022 when the nomination portal closed was presented.

“For clarity, the Form EC9 (submission of names of candidates by political parties) is the form uploaded by parties on the INEC nomination portal. This is clearly indicated on the title of the form which was received on June 17, 2022 when the portal closed. What follows is the publication of the personal particulars of nominated candidates which was done a week later. The forms of the two personalities in question were not published by the commission.

“The decision of the commission triggered legal action which are still ongoing. It, therefore, defies logic and common sense to go around and submit doctored documents purportedly recognising the duo as candidates when the matter is clearly sub-judice.

“As part of the ongoing case in court, a law firm requested the commission for a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Form EC9 submitted by the APC as its candidate for Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district which we are duty bound to oblige them under the law.

“The form was certified on July 15, 2022. If minimum care has been exercised by the promoters of the story, they would have seen the two stamps of the commission bearing different dates on the form. It is this Form that is now misconstrued as INEC’s endorsement.

“For the record, the commission has not recognised any of the two personalities as a senatorial candidate. We call for responsible reportage as against the unwarranted attack on the commission and its officials over a matter than can be easily fact-checked,” INEC said in the statement