The Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, OGSIEC, has amended the age qualification for candidates in the November 16 local government elections, reducing the minimum age from 30 to 25 years.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Commission’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, and obtained by DAILY POST on Friday.

Osibodu stated that the amendment followed a review of the laws governing the conduct of Local Government elections, bringing the guidelines in line with Section 7(4) & 106 of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that a candidate is qualified for election if he or she has attained the age of 25 years.

The Commission also extended the deadline for each party’s primaries by one week.

Parts of the statement read: “The primaries, initially set to end on Monday, September 9, will now run until Monday, September 16, 2024. The collection of personal data forms (CF001 and CF002) by each political party has also been extended to Friday, September 20, 2024.

“Political parties that have already conducted their primaries may collect the necessary forms for each of their candidates starting from Tuesday, September 10, 2024, with submissions accepted between Monday, September 16, and Friday, September 20, 2024.

“All other schedules in the previously published election timetable remain unchanged; including the Chairmanship and Councillorship elections set to hold on November 16, 2023.”

The Commission also announced that all political parties planning to run in the elections are invited to a meeting by 12:00 pm on Monday, September 9, 2024, at the Commission’s headquarters in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta.

Osibodu however requested that each political party should send not more than two representatives to the meeting.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday dismissed an appeal seeking to disqualify Asue Ighodalo as governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Hamma Barka, dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/863/2024.

The appeal was filed by governorship aspirants Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua.

Esene and Ojezua had, in the appeal prayed the Court of Appeal to set aside the April 17 judgment by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja which dismissed their suit for being statute barred.

Justice Barka held that the suit filed before the Federal High Court by Ojezua and four others was filed out of time and statute barred.

He agreed with the judgment of the Federal High Court that, not Ojezua and others fail to establish their claims that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card.

In addition, the judge held that their suit was bereft of any merit because it was based on a flawed assumption that not possession of a voter’s card constitutes a ground to disqualify a candidate from contesting election.

He found that the appellants failed to appeal the findings of the trial court that Ighodalo actually applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the transfer of his registration from Lagos State to Edo and that INEC issued a voter’s card to Ighodalo.

Justice Barka therefore strike out the appeal for being without merit and pto awarded cost of N3 million against the appellants and in favour of Ighodalo, PDP and INEC.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has provided updates on its preparations for the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections.

The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Sam Olumekun, represented by the Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Mary Nkem, gave the update during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.

He emphasised the media’s importance not only as a conveyor of information but also as a key player in the democratic process, particularly during elections.

He, however, called for integrity in media reportage as the two off-cycle elections approach in a few weeks.

“Preparations have reached an advanced and critical stage due to the importance placed on the role of the media in elections,” he said.

“The commission has left no stone unturned. These efforts are to guarantee that this election will be conducted with the highest standards of integrity.

“We are intensifying our engagement with stakeholders at both the state and local government levels, while voter education is ongoing on all fronts.

“The training of security personnel has been completed, and the training of electoral officers will be finished in September 2024.

“The Commission is finalizing arrangements with the land and marine transport unions.

“The printing of voter registers for each of the 4,590 units in those states is virtually completed. The installation and deployment of election materials are also completed.

“On Tuesday, the 10th of September 2024, the Commission will meet with other stakeholders to monitor voter accreditation in selected areas in Edo State.

“On the 11th of September 2024, the Peace Accord will be signed by all stakeholders under the supervision of the National Committee, chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. It’s a busy period for us, as you can see.

“Media accreditation opened on Monday, the 8th of July 2024, and closed just yesterday, the 24th of July at 12:30 PM.

“We will publish the list of organizations accredited for the election and share it on all our social media platforms.”

He also warned journalists against reporting fake news, emphasizing that misinformation could harm the electoral process, especially in the digital age.

“The Commission has taken proactive steps to combat this menace, part of which is being open and transparent in all areas, which the Commission has always done,” he said.

“We have made it a culture to constantly update the public through you, the media.”

Additionally, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, offered recommendations to the media to help avoid the spread of fake news.

He reminded the media that their role is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and stressed the importance of journalists understanding INEC’s election result management processes.

He urged the media to comply with the Nigerian media code of electoral coverage, emphasizing fairness and objectivity.

Oyekanmi advised the media to always cross-check facts and figures, noting that breaking news with falsehoods is futile.