The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted claims that it withdrew its appeal against the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s ruling. This clarification was provided in a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, on Saturday.
Initially, the commission’s legal officer in Kano had sent a letter indicating that the commission had instructed its legal team to retract the appeal filed against the tribunal’s judgment that invalidated the election of Governor Kabir Yusuf. It was reported that the commission had lodged a 33-point appeal against the tribunal’s decision.
However, INEC’s official statement declared that the letter from the legal officer was not authorized. The statement emphasized, “We wish to state categorically that the letter was not authorized. It has since been withdrawn, and the officer reprimanded. The public is therefore advised to disregard the suggestion that the Commission has withdrawn from the case or, even worse, abandoned the appeal.”
Furthermore, the statement affirmed INEC’s commitment to its legal obligations when it is involved as a litigant in a case. The commission clarified that it had instructed its lawyers to proceed in accordance with its established policy, which remains unchanged.
In other news, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance are among the political parties that have yet to submit their audit reports from the 2023 general election. INEC conducted the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, with the governorship and state Assembly polls taking place on March 11. According to Section 89 of the Electoral Act 2022, political parties are required to submit their audited election expense returns within six months after an election’s conclusion.
