http://kogireports.com/double-registration-scandal-this-outright-violation-of-electoral-law-will-not-be-swept-under-the-carpet-kogi-pdp/


The people democratic party (PDP) in Kogi State on
Saturday accused the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) of double standards over its
acknowledgement that the Commission registered the state
governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello twice in violation of the
Electoral Act.

The party in a statement issued in Lokoja by its Publicity
Secretary, Prince Bode Ogunmola, said the development was
a vindication of the party’s earlier stance on the voter’s
registration status of governor Bello, adding that the APC-led
government in Kogi was foisted on the people of the state.
“It is not untrue that Yahaya Bello was not legally qualified
and had no moral standing to run for election in Kogi State,
in the first place, since he has never been a registered voter
in the state.

“It was not for nothing that some of his party members were
not happy and openly disagreed with the way the national
body of the APC imposed his gubernatorial candidature on
them. The state is presently groaning under a leadership
that has no place in moral justice.

“Our party is taken aback by the revelation that Yahaya
Bello registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday,
23rd May, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja. This, to us,
smacks of double-standard on the part of the electoral
body”.

“The questions INEC needs to ask itself are: Did the officer
(s) of the commission that registered Yahaya Bello for the
second time not know that he had claimed to be a registered
voter? Does it mean that INEC has no record of voters in its
data bank, thus allowing double registration? No doubt,
somebody is not ready to stand by the truth somewhere.
“We expect that this outright violation of electoral law will
not be swept under the carpet as the Electoral Act
adequately prescribes the appropriate penalty for anyone
that violates the law.

“It is, therefore, not enough to cancel the second registration
without ensuring that the necessary penalty is meted out,”
Ogunmola said in the statement.
Credit: Daily Trust