An appeal by the 18 registered political parties, through the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), for an extension of the deadline for the conduct of party primaries has been rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
At INEC’s second quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in 2022 which held on Tuesday, IPAC requested for an extension of 37 days to the deadline of the time frame for the conduct of party primaries and resolution of conflicts arising from the primaries
Recall that shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the Electoral Act 2022, INEC reviewed its schedules for the 2023 general election in February and in line with the new legislation, the commission marked out April 4 to June 3 for the conduct of party primaries.
INEC also made it known last week that the commission will not shift the deadline for the conduct of primaries, as it remains firm and fixed.
Presenting their case at the meeting on Tuesday, Yabagi Sani, IPAC chairman, noted the preparations and actual celebration of Easter and Eid El Fitr (Sallah) holidays, and distractions due to preparations for the Ekiti and Osun elections made them seek for the deadline extension.