Party primaries: IPAC calls for extension of timeline by two months

BY SAM OGBEIFUN

Ahead of political party primaries fixed for later in May, the Inter-Party Advisory Council IPAC has called on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the timeline by two months.

The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr. Yusuf Yabagi, made the call on Tuesday at a meeting hosted by the Electoral Commission and attended by leaders of various political parties at in Abuja.

The meeting was attended by the National Chairmen of various parties, including Abdullahi Adamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Iyorchia Ayu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The IPAC Chairman said the extension has become imperative to help political parties prepare and put their house in order ahead of the primaries and the forthcoming general elections.

Earlier,  the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said the meeting was called to discuss issues concerning the continuous voters’ registration, the upcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, as well as political parties’ primaries for the 2023 polls.

The INEC boss ruled out a possible review of the existing timelines and appealed that primaries be conducted credibly in order to avoid litigations associated with previous party’s primaries.

On the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, Yakubu called on all parties to comply with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.