The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has reacted to the exclusion of its gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Dennis Osahon Aikoriogie from the lists of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, presented the list at the INEC office in Benin City.
In a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, the Commission urged Nigerians to scrutinize the documents, emphasizing that any aspirant who suspects false information in a candidate’s submission from party primaries can challenge the nomination in a Federal High Court as outlined in Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The NRM National Publicity Secretary, Olusola Afuya, while speaking with Africa Independent Television (AIT), described Dr. Aikoriogie’s exclusion as laughable, denouncing the claim by the electoral umpire that the party failed to nominate candidates as fallacious.
Afuya asserted that the NRM meticulously followed the law and electoral guidelines to be on the ballot, emphasizing the party’s commitment to serving the Nigerian people.
“NRM as a political party has put everything in place, humanly possible, looking into the law, the guidelines, and the political party that is ready to serve the Nigerian people.
“We would not just go to sleep in such a crucial election where everybody, every party has the opportunity to come and showcase what they have in stock and NRM by the word ‘Rescue Movement’ will just decide not to have a candidate in such an election?”
The NRM spokesman argued that the party was on the ground in Edo State as evident in its performance in the last polls in the state where it came fourth.
While detailing the event that led to the nomination of Dr. Dennis Aikoriogie as its flagbearer and the controversies in the party, he said:
“We had everything in place, we conducted the primary, the INEC staff from Abuja were sent to Edo State to Benin, we have our sitting state chairman, Chief Sam Arase receive the delegation from the INEC National, conducted primary at the party’s secretariat, having Dr. Dennis Osahon Aikoriogie as our candidate.
“On the alleged insinuation that there were factions in the party, culminating in a parallel primary, Afuya said: “It is obvious that some people, underhand factors, for reasons best known to them, cooked up bandits figure and bandits reports that there was another primary, trying to present a scenario that we had factions, a parallel primary, in which they cannot hold on to.”
He said INEC itself cannot produce the list of delegates that participated in that primary.
He averred that the National leadership of the party rose to the occasion by going to INEC and tried their possible best to have an audience with INEC EPM Director who had earlier claimed that there was a second primary, a position the party leadership challenged.
According to him, the party could not get a satisfactory answer from her as she could not avail them of the lists and the candidates that emerged from that primary.
Continuing he said:
“We have to move it forward to seek an audience with the National Chairman of INEC that very fateful day. He met us on his staircase because he was rushing out somewhere and he said ‘guys, I am going somewhere, I won’t be around but this issue of NRM, I am going to delegate Professor Zuru, the acting chairman to listen to the matter.”
“In that panel, we have Professor Zuru as the chairman of the panel, we have EPM director and then we have the National and then we have the National Commissioner for EPM in that meeting.”
“It is on record that October 23rd last year, we suspended Azikude as our National Chairman, empowering by the NEC that Doctor Chinedu Obi should act in his capacity and then we now had Hassan as our Acting National Secretary,” he added.
With the purported exclusion of Dr. Aikoriogie, there have been widespread expressions of disappointment from citizens, with many positing that INEC’s action could jeopardize the gubernatorial election’s legitimacy.
Concerns have been raised by analysts, urging INEC to rectify the situation to prevent any electoral irregularities.
