It’s parties’ duty to verify candidates’ certificates — INEC

It’s parties’ duty to verify candidates’ certificates — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that it is the job of political parties to verify credentials submitted by their candidates.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

Idowu was asked whether it was INEC that should verify credentials, which the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), claimed was with the Secretary to the Military Board.

In the documents he submitted to INEC, Buhari had said that his certificates were with the board.

But in the interview with journalists, Idowu stated, “I won’t speak on individual. I can only speak in general term. No, I won’t comment on individual candidate on this issue. You can’t quote me on that.

“When parties file their nominees, the law requires that INEC should display those nominees for claims and objections. If objections are made to those claims, the commissions revert back to the political parties because the statutory mandate is on the parties to nominate their candidates and not to allow INEC to choose their candidates for them.

“INEC would have to revert back to the political parties to say ‘there is a challenge to the credentials that you have filed to the criteria that you have cited for any particular nominee, so do the needful by addressing it, either by verifying it and see whether it is true or by showing that it is not true and sort it out.’

“It is their job; they sort it out before they bring their nominees to the
commission. So, the commission has no role in disqualifying candidates.”

He was also asked what the commission would do if a person did not submit credentials as required by law.

He stated, “I don’t see any basis of that objection. It is not only in INEC,
everywhere, sometimes, you submit affidavit. It is not new, you can submit affidavit, attestation in place of the original certificate. If there is a challenge to what the commission has, the commission reverts back to the party because the commission does not even have the capacity to reject candidates. For now, I am not aware of any issue you are raising now that the commission will revert back to the party.”

The following chat ensued between Idowu and newsmen.

Journalists: Now that there is a challenge in Buhari’s candidacy in respect of his failure to submit academic qualifications, will the commission revert back to the party?

Idowu: Which challenge? Are you the one challenging?

Journalists: What if the issue comes up?

Idowu: Wait until then, don’t throw up any issue that has not come up. The issue has not arisen.

Journalists: Which certificate did he present in the previous elections that he contested? He contested in 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections, did he present certificates in those elections?

Idowu: I have said it that I can’t respond to individual candidate’s issue here. You people are trying to drag INEC to a needless issue. I don’t want to discuss individuals.

Journalists: Does INEC have the mandate of screening candidates for elections?

Idowu: INEC does not screen candidates because INEC does not reject
candidates. INEC, in seeing what parties have submitted, display it for claims and objections, if there are objections, it takes it up with the parties.

Also speaking on the issue, the Buhari 2015 Support Group described the controversy over the academic qualification of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate as an unnecessary distraction and a campaign which was bound to fail.

The Director of Publicity of the group, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, said this in a statement e-mailed to The PUNCH, late on Tuesday.

He explained that it was outrageous for anyone to suggest that the former Head of State was lacking in intellectual capacity to provide leadership for a nation he once led.

The statement partly read, “I want to say that the on-line controversy is uncalled for because Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is a man whose antecedents are well known.

“His integrity is not in doubt, he is known for transparency and due process. We are in the age of search engines so, any effort to goggle General Buhari’s credentials will yield the required results.

“He attended Katsina Provincial School where he was a school prefect and Head Boy before proceeding to the Nigerian Military Training College which was later renamed the Nigeria Defence Academy, the records are there.”

The spokesperson noted that the retired general attended well known military institutions including one at Aldershot in England, United Kingdom, other military institutions in the USA and India.

Report from Punch