By G9ija
The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that the concept of placeholder has no backing in law.
The INEC made its position known on Monday following the submission of names of placeholders by some parties.
Recall that the All Progressives congress and Labour Party had submitted the names of placeholders as vice presidential candidates for the their presidential candidates ahead of the elections in 2023 in the bid to meet the INEC deadline of June 17, 2023
While the APC submitted the name of Kabir Ibrahim Masari as the running mate of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Labour Party put in Dr. Doyin Okupe as the vice presidential candidate to Peter Obi.
But speaking on the development, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the use of placeholder has no known root in law.
Okoye told Arise Television on Monday: “The constitution makes it very clear that you cannot run alone as a presidential candidate and must nominate an associate to run with you for that position, and as far as INEC is concerned, the presidential candidates have submitted their associates to run with them in the presidential election.
“As far as we are concerned, there’s no form submitted by the presidential candidate where they said we’re submitting this person’s name as a place or space holder.
“The issue of space or place holder is a unique Nigerian invention that has no place in our constitutional and legal framework.
“Political parties candidates have submitted names of associates to run with them, and that is the position of the law as at today and nothing has changed.
“For there to be a substitution of a candidate, the vice-presidential candidate must write to INEC, with a sworn affidavit stating that he is withdrawing from the race within the time frame provided by the law.
“That’s the only way there can be a substitution of candidates.”