From Saka Bolaji, Minna
The Independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) has told all the registered political parties in Niger state to stop organising political campaigns as doing so contravenes the electoral act 2010
INEC said in a statement made available to the media in Minna the state capital that it had to remind the political parties of the regulation because the attention of the Commission ” has been drawn to the commencement of electioneering campaigns by political parties in breach of the electoral law”.
It should be recalled that In the last couple of weeks the two leading political parties in the state had held rallies in Minna, Agaie and Paiko with hundreds of their supporters in attendance.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had christened its assembly as ” Unity Mega meeting” while the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) described its own as “endorsement rally”.
The PDP had also reached advanced stage in its preparation for another ” Unity Mega meeting in Kontagora town”.
Though no ugly incident occurred during and after all these rallies INEC however said that “it is even more disturbing that such campaigns are resulting in the breach of public order as some incidents in some parts of the state indicate in more recent times”.
The statement signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Samuel Egwu, stressed that “the commission urges the political parties and candidates to stop forthwith public campaigns as the Commission, through the Department of Election and political Party Monitoring is tracking the illegal activities of parties and candidates for appropriate sanctions
“The Commission will further draw the attention of political parties and other stakeholders to the fact that elections are rule based game and that strict compliance with the law is important in advancing and deepening Nigeria’s electoral democracy”
Prof. Egwu admonished political parties, candidates and individuals “to be in full observance of the law”.
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