The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concern over the omission of several of its candidates from the final list of successful contestants released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Among those reportedly omitted are the party’s Ogun State governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and the Gombe State governorship candidate, Ali Pantami.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the PDP said it was already engaging INEC to resolve the issues responsible for the omissions.
The party assured affected candidates, members and supporters that efforts were ongoing to secure an amicable resolution in accordance with the Electoral Act and established electoral guidelines.
According to the statement, the PDP is treating the development with utmost seriousness and will continue to update stakeholders as discussions progress.
Meanwhile, former Senator Shehu Sani urged politicians affected by the omissions not to pursue what he described as futile legal battles.
Sani referenced a Supreme Court ruling that restored provisions of the Electoral Act requiring political parties to submit membership registers to INEC before conducting primaries.
He argued that the apex court’s position on party membership requirements was clear and advised affected candidates to prepare for future elections rather than spend resources on litigation.
“The Supreme Court ruling that enabled INEC to exclude some names of candidates is very clear. Affected candidates should not waste their money, time and energy fighting a lost battle,” he said.
