Kogi gov's election holds March 29

From Johnson Babajide and Niyi Adebimpe, Lokoja - 15.02.2008

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the timetable for the governorship election in Kogi State and the date of the election has been fixed for March 29.

Disclosing this in Lokoja, the state capital, on Thursday was the national commissioner in charge of publicity and media, Mr. Philip Umeadi, at a press briefing.

Umeadi said that only political parties which contested last April 14 governorship election in the state would be allowed to contest, explaining further that those parties with the exception of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) would be entitled to re-nominate candidates if they so desired.

The commissioner said that the ANPP, due to the declaration of the Appeal Court, would not be allowed to make any change of its candidate who was disqualified in the last governorship election, Prince Abubakar Audu.

He said that the commission would soon hold a stakeholders’ meeting in order to fashion out ways to tackle the security problems in the state, stating that the commission was ready to conduct a free and fair election.

As part of the preparations, he said that the commission would deploy all the staff and materials from neighbouring states to Kogi 48 hours before the day of the election, charging politicians and all stakeholders to comport themselves during the election.

He allayed the fears of politicians who claimed that they might be denied their right to vote due to their inability to procure voters’ cards, saying that both permanent and temporary voters’ cards would be used during the election.

According to the timetable released by the commissioner, the publication of notice of bye-elections, notice of polls and collection of forms are fixed for 13 March, while the last day for submission of the list of candidates form CF002 and CF001 is fixed for 15 March.

Publication of nomination, according to the INEC chief, is fixed for 17 March, campaign would end on 28 March at 8 a.m., while the election would be held Saturday 29 March.

Meanwhile, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Kogi State has said that it will not participate in the governorship election. The chairman of the forum, which consists of 10 political parties, Honourable Faruk Onuh, disclosed this at a press conference in Lokoja, the state capital, on Thursday, saying that their decision was to support the re-election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.

Onuh, who said that their decision was based on the record of achievements of the former governor, added that, this would, however, not prevent them from criticising the government when the need arose.