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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom state, Mike Igini, has said it is an offence under the amended electoral act 2022 for politicians to obtain multiple nomination forms.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, Igini said by “constituency”, the electoral act 2022 refers to separate elections whether it is presidential, governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives or state assembly.
He said any candidate who runs foul of this law is liable to be jailed for two years, noting that section 115 (3) states that an attempt to obtain multiple form is an offence.
“Section 115 (D) of the 2022 electoral act stipulates that no person shall sign, obtain more than one form as a candidate for different elections.
“A person who signs a nomination paper or result form as a candidate in more than one constituency at the same election commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum term of imprisonment for two years.
“And the offence for that under subsection K, beyond the financial, he will go two years’ imprisonment.
“Some people are claiming that they participated in one election, that they filled two forms; it’s ignorance of the law and it’s not an excuse.
“We are preventing them from being candidates for prison and they are calling our names everywhere.
“There are many candidates that have done this. INEC can only point you in that direction; that’s what we can do.
“People walk their way to prison when they say that they bought two forms. Section 115 (D) prohibits that.
“In fact, subsection 3 of 115 says that even that attempt itself will be treated as the offence.
“If you bought two forms for different constituencies at the same time as a candidate. If they bought two forms like we have been hearing, they have run afoul of the law already.
“Because a state assembly election is a constituency, House of Representatives is a constituency, senatorial is a constituency, governorship is a constituency, presidential is one constituency,” he said.
Igini insisted that INEC did not monitor the primaries that produced former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, as the senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North West district.
Akpabio had contested the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but he withdrew from the race during the convention, on June 7, and asked his supporters to back former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu.
On May 27, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Udom Ekpoudom had won the primary election organised for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District
However, a parallel primary election won by Ekperikpe Ekpo, buwas later cancelled over irregularities, while a rerun was conducted on June 8, with Akpabio declared as winner of the exercise.