Appeal court Judgment on Deregistration won’t affect Ondo election

The Independent National Electoral Commission ,INEC , on Tuesday said the Court of Appeal judgment reversing the deregistration of some political parties will not affect the October 10, 2020, governorship election in Ondo State.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on Monday ordered the commission to re-list 22 of the political parties deregistered last year for failing to win any elective office in the 2019 general elections which contradicted another judgment given by the appellate court.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated this during a webinar for journalists on the Ondo State election.

The workshop was organised by the International Press Centre in conjunction with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo state Council.

Oyekanmi said “The election will go on as scheduled; the judgment can’t change anything. Since none of them (affected parties) conducted primaries before the closing of the window, they cannot take part in the election and that cannot affect INEC’s preparation,” Oyekanmi said.

He restated that the INEC would appeal the judgment, adding that there were six judgments on the deregistration of political parties and five of them were in favour of the commission.

In a presentation ,the editor in chief ,the guardian newspaper, Martins Oloja urged Journalists covering Ondo state governorship election to be conflict sensitive and come out with facts that help voters determine who to vote for as their next governor.

Other keynote speakers included
Mr. David Anyaele of Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mrs. MufuliatFijabiof the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Mr. David Ajikobi of AfricaCkeck.