THE primaries scheduled for Wednesday by the Sen Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Edo State gubernatorial election will go contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
INEC's Deputy Director Media, Nick Dazang, said in Abuja on Sunday that it was inconceivable that the proposed primaries would satisfy the provision of the Act, which requires a 21-day notice to be given tLo INEC before it can monitor the exercise.
The electoral body also posited that it has already monitored the primaries of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the PDP conducted for the September 10, 2016 governorship.
Despite the conduct of Edo State primaries by the National Caretaker Committee of the party and the emergence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the PDP flag bearer, Sheriff has raised different committees to begin a new process of congresses and primaries in the state.
While saying that he was not aware whether INEC would be sending personnel to monitor the Wednesday's primaries, the commission's spokesman stated that INEC would take a definite position after the July 4, 2106 court judgment on the leadership crisis in the PDP.
Asked whether the commission would monitor the Sheriff's primaries, Dazang said: "Well, I’m not aware INEC will monitor any primary. In respect of which party are you talking about? Because INEC has monitored the primaries of the APC and the PDP.
"If anyone is giving INEC notice of primaries, by our schedules of activities, I mean by the Electoral Act, that notice should be for 21 days.
"I understand that one of the factional leaders wrote us to say he is going to do primaries on Wednesday but the Electoral Act says you must serve INEC 21 days notice
"I can't see how conceivable it is for someone to serve us a notice and within a week or two he conducts primaries because the notice is supposed to be 21 days.
"But what I am aware of is that INEC has monitored the primaries of the APC and the PDP and I am not also aware that it might monitor another PDP primary."
However, he added: "There's a judgment that is coming up on the July 4, in respect of the leadership crisis in the PDP.
"We are awaiting the judgment so that it will give us a very clear idea of what to do.
"The position is that INEC is yet to take any decision as to whether to send people to monitor it or not."
The INEC spokesman also pointed out that the timetable of the schedule and activities of the Edo governorship election shows that the periods of primaries were from June 2 to July 4.
Sheriff, claimant of the national chairman of the PDP, declared as illegal the congresses and primaries conducted by the National Caretaker Committee and set machinery in motion for fresh exercises to start from June 23 to June 29.
Last week, Sheriff started selling governorship nominations forms with three aspirants paying the sum of N10million each to obtain them.
Among those who have collected the forms from his private office in Maitama, Abuja are Matthew Idurioyekemwen and Solomon Edebiri who lost under the one conducted by the National Caretaker Committee as well as Johnson Agbonayinma.
Sheriff at the weekend, also announced the suspension of Edo State Executive Committee of the party led by Chief Dan Orbih, setting up a caretaker committee in its place.
But this was quickly dismissed by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee which directed the Edo State chapter to ignore the purported suspension.
