The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to a recent court judgement ordering it to recognise Senator Godswill Akpabio as the candidate for the Akwa-Ibom North/West senatorial district in the forthcoming elections.
Akpabio, the immediate past Minister for Niger Delta, had failed to clinch the ticket for his senatorial district during the party primaries.
But, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja said INEC acted unjustly by failing to recognise Akpabio as the candidate for the senatorial district.
In an interview with ChannelsTV, INEC National Electoral Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said the commission had not received a certified copy of the court judgement as of Thursday, September 15.
“Based on our rules, we respect court orders because under Section 287 of the Constitution; we are a public institution and are bound to obey orders from properly constituted courts of law,” Okoye said.
“But we have to receive the judgement, study the judgment, understand what has transpired in relation to the matter, and then make a decision on what the court expects us to do and also make a decision whether the commission will appeal against such a judgement,” he added.
Akapbio was one of the aspirants who stepped down for Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the APC presidential primary at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
