Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship candidates to be disqualified by INEC over age limit

Some governorship and deputy-governorship candidates in the November 16 elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States might get disqualified by the Independent and National Electoral commission (INEC) over their age. 

It is expected that the personal particulars of candidates nominated by political parties for the elections would be published on Friday (today) September 13, as INEC's chairman on Information and Voter Education Committee Festus Okoye said on Thursday September 12, that the affected parties will be notified soon. 

Okoye said, “The personal particulars of the nominees will be published on the notice boards of our offices in Yenagoa and Lokoja. As required by law, the commission monitored the primaries of the political parties and the list of candidates who emerged has since been published on our website and other platforms.

“From our records, 64 political parties conducted primaries in Bayelsa State as against 59 in Kogi State. Out of these, 52 political parties for Bayelsa and 49 for Kogi, respectively, submitted the list of candidates and their personal particulars at the close of nomination at 6pm on Monday, September 9, 2019.

“While some of the political parties that conducted primaries did not submit any list and personal particulars of candidates, a few failed to submit within the time limit prescribed by the commission.”

He further revealed that the total number of candidates contesting in the governorship election in the two states are 101. 91 were male, representing 90 per cent, while 10 were female, representing 10 per cent of all the nominees.

There are 52 Governorship candidates in Bayelsa state of which six are female and 46 are male. In Kogi, there are 49 governorship candidates of which four are female and 45 are male. 

Some of the Governorship candidates however risk disqualification as their ages are below the constitutional age for the office. 

He added, “The commission has observed from a preliminary review of the list and personal particulars submitted by the political parties that some of the governorship and deputy-governorship candidates are below the minimum age prescribed by the constitution for these positions.

“The commission will notify the concerned parties soon and subsequently consider further action.

“As we continue to prepare for the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2019, the commission once more reminds the political parties of the timelines in the timetable and schedule of activities and requests strict compliance with them.”