PDP confirms compliance as Labour Party declares itself in good standing with electoral commission

ABUJA — The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Action Democratic Party (ADP) have confirmed that they met the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) October 24 deadline for correcting the names of candidates omitted from its published list.

The affected opposition parties were among those directed by INEC to address omissions involving their candidates ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

The PDP’s governorship candidates in Ogun and Gombe states, Oladipupo Adebutu and Professor Isa Pantami, respectively, were among those reportedly omitted from the list, alongside several House of Assembly candidates.

Other affected parties included the Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Labour Party (LP).

The PDP’s National Organising Secretary, Captain Umar Bature (retd.), confirmed that the party had complied with the commission’s directive.

Speaking with Vanguard on Sunday, Bature said the party completed the necessary corrections within the stipulated period.

“Yes, we met the deadline since,” he said.

NDC, ADP Confirm Compliance

Similarly, the national leadership of the NDC confirmed that it had met INEC’s deadline for correcting the names of candidates omitted from the published list.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, gave the confirmation in response to an inquiry by Vanguard.

“Yes, we did,” he said.

The National Chairman of the ADP, Engineer Yabagi Yusuf Sani, also confirmed that his party complied with the deadline.

Speaking with the newspaper on Sunday, Sani said, “We did. Thanks a lot.”

Labour Party Declares Itself in Good Standing

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has declared that it remains in good standing with INEC regarding the correction of candidates’ names and the replacement of candidates.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the LP had addressed the relevant issues and remained confident about the prospects of its candidates in the forthcoming elections.

“The Labour Party is in good standing with INEC, including on matters relating to the correction of names and replacement of candidates,” Asogwa said.

He added that the party was looking forward to a successful outing for all its candidates.

INEC Yet to Clarify Status of Some Candidates

Despite the assurances from the affected parties, further clarification was still being awaited from INEC on the status of some omitted candidates, particularly NDC’s John Upan and Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo of the ADC in Cross River State.

Toyo told Vanguard that she had completed all the necessary steps required before the deadline expired but was still waiting for an official update from the electoral commission.

“They gave us the deadline of October 24, which was Saturday, and I had done all that they asked for, but they have not brought out any information. Let’s wait for them,” she said.

When contacted, the Head of INEC’s Voter Education in Cross River State, Mr Osaro Aisen, said the matter was being handled at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

“The whole thing is handled from Abuja and it is a legal matter. Let’s see what will come forth tomorrow (Monday),” he said.

Aisen declined to give a definitive response on the status of the affected candidates, saying further clarification would be available after Monday.

The commission’s position is expected to provide clarity on whether the omitted candidates have been successfully reinstated on the published list following the expiration of the October 24 deadline.