Bayelsa: Exclusion of PDP guber candidate an error – Barage
On January 14, 2012 · In News

Abuja - (NAN) Acting National Chairman of the ruling PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, says the exclusion of its candidate in the INEC list of candidates for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Bayelsa, “is an error’’.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the name of PDP’s gubernatorial candidate for the election, Mr Serikae Dickson, is missing in the list of 35 candidates of different political parties, released by INEC.

Baraje who was fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja said the error would soon be corrected as INEC had no constitutional power to disqualify any candidate in an election.

According to him, PDP has no plan to challenge INEC’s decision in court because the party believed that the exclusion of its candidate was an error which would be rectified.

“We have pointed out the error to INEC that we have done our primaries and it is to the know of INEC and we’ve come out successfully with our candidate and INEC acknowledged our submission, that time.

“So, for them to have said that we are in court, therefore, they would not include our candidate, is against the law.

“INEC has no authority of such and we are working together with INEC and I am sure it’ll be corrected very, very soon.’’

Baraje said the party had engaged INEC in dialogue to rectify the error as it had no plan to go to court.

He said that the Electoral Act forbade anyone, including INEC to interfere in the electoral processes of any political party, including the conduct of party primaries.