Rivers APC Has No Candidates, Our Position Stands – INEC

Four days after the Appeal Court’s judgment, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday insisted that Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) has no candidates for the forthcoming general elections.
This is as the commission announced that both sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the elections have been dispatched to states in readiness for the polls.

INEC has fixed February 16 for the presidential and National Assembly polls. March 2 has been slated for the governorship, state Assembly and council elections.

An Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Ali Gumel, granted a stay on Justice Kolawole Omotoso’s judgment on the fielding of candidates by APC in Rivers State.

Thus, the party expected the commission to restore the names of its candidates removed as a result of the internal crisis within the party.

But, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education and Publicity Festus Okoye said the commission had taken a position.

Okoye, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at an interactive meeting with reporters revealed that the position of the commission has not changed in respect of Rivers State APC candidates for the National Assembly and governorship elections.

He said: “We have taken a decision relating to the issue of Rivers and if anything changes before we take our final decision, the commission will meet and also take a decision. But we have not taken any other decision and we have not repealed our position on the issue of Rivers.”