The chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahood Yakubu in a press conference on Saturday 25th May in Abuja, announced that the Commission following the ruling of the Supreme Court nullifying the elections of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, Bello Matawalle and others who contested the 2019 general elections under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be issued with a Certificate of Return.
According to the statement by INEC, the Governor-elect, Bello Matawalle and his Deputy Governor-elect, Senators-elect and Members of the House of Representatives-elect will receive their certificates on Monday 27th May 2019 at the Commission’s Electoral Institute at 2.00pm.
The Members of the State House of Assembly-elect will receive their certificates from the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Zamfara State at the INEC State Office in Gusau on Friday 31st May 2019 at 10.00am.
Professor Yakubu stating further said:
“I wish to seize this opportunity to draw the attention of all stakeholders, but particularly the political parties, to the implications of the Supreme Court judgment on the Zamfara matter.
It is clear that properly conducted party primaries are cardinal to the proper internal functioning of political parties, the electoral process and our democratic system at large.
Therefore, political parties must take very seriously the conduct of primaries according to all extant rules, including the monitoring of the processes by INEC to avoid a repeat of the Zamfara experience.
I want therefore to remind us that the Commission has since 9th April 2019 issued the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship elections by which party primaries are scheduled to hold between the 2ndand 29th August 2019″ he said.