Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra Central, has defended the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over criticisms surrounding the outcome of its nationwide primaries, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not require political parties to publicly publish the results of their primaries.
Speaking in an interview with AIT News, Umeh, who won the senatorial ticket of the NDC, said the party had complied with INEC’s guidelines by conducting its primaries before the May 30 deadline.
His comments come amid complaints by some NDC aspirants who alleged that the party had failed to release the list of winners from the primaries conducted on May 29.
Some of the aspirants also accused the party of replacing the names of candidates who emerged victorious during the exercise.
Responding to the allegations, Umeh argued that INEC’s regulations only require parties to conduct primaries and submit the names of candidates to the commission.
“INEC has set times for parties to do certain things. One of them is to conduct primaries with a deadline of May 30,” he said.
“It didn’t say that when you finish your primaries, you must publish your results to the public.”
The senator maintained that political parties are entitled to follow the procedures stipulated by the electoral umpire.
“It is within the right of the party to go by the INEC guideline and do the statutory things that they are required to do,” he said.
When asked whether withholding the results creates room for speculation and misinformation, Umeh said many of the aspirants complaining already know the outcome of the contests they participated in.
“Most of them know. If they don’t know, they can’t come to television to shout,” he said.
ASPIRANTS CLAIMING VICTORY AHEAD
The lawmaker added that premature claims of victory by aspirants often contribute to confusion after party primaries.
“It’s somebody who wants to deceive the public that can run to social media and begin to claim that he won a primary that he took part in,” he said.
The NDC has faced criticism in recent days from some aspirants, including activist Aisha Yesufu and other contestants, who have alleged irregularities and a lack of transparency in parts of the primary process.
The party has denied the allegations and says it has commenced a reconciliation process to address grievances arising from the exercise.
