The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has turned down a request by the approved 18 political parties to modify the 2023 general election timetable.
INEC said acceding to the request would affect its “other activities” and create “unnecessary tension” that could negatively affect the general election scheduled to commence on February 25, next year.
“The commission will not review the timelines,” INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said during a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the umbrella body of the registered parties in Abuja.
The meeting was attended by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Iyorcha Ayu and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) National Chairman Victor Oye and IPAC Chairman Yabagi Sani.
In a bid to justify its call for an alteration to the timetable, IPAC said it discovered that the schedule of activities for the general election was based on “certain circumstances and developments that have hampered timely and strict compliance with the timelines.”
The council specifically urged that the deadline for primaries be extended by 37 days from June 3.
