The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has said Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections must hold in order to avert a constitutional crisis.
It explained that the timetable and schedule of activities for the two elections would be released on June 1st.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education and Publicity, Festus Okoye, who stated this added that it’s not the electoral body that’s insisting that the governorship elections in the two states be conducted but the constitution.
Okoye said if INEC fails to conduct the two elections within the constitutional time frame, it means the electoral body has lost its rights to fix the date for elections and that responsibility would now fall on political authorities under Sections 180 and 305 to fix a date for elections.
He added that INEC as a constitutional body derives its powers directly from the constitution as Section 178 of the constitution as well as Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, empower INEC to conduct elections at a specific period.
