The Independent National Electoral Commission has begun its constitutional responsibility of conducting status verification of political parties in the country.

 

The  Director of the Election and Party Monitoring, Hajia Hawa Habibu, made this known when she led INEC’s Election and Party Monitoring Team on a visit to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.

 

Habibu said the visit was part of the commission’s annual verification of political parties.

 

“It is a constitutional mandate of the commission. Basically, we are supposed to find out and issue notices where political parties are not in compliance with the constitutional provisions. As to the number, structures of the party in terms of office in Abuja, auditing of their finances and other issues.

 

“The team will go round to verify the offices with our forms to give us the structure of the party as to whether the Electoral Act provision of a minimum of 24 members of different states of the federation and the FCT has been compiled with,” she said.

 

She added that the team would also verify the party’s audited account.

 

“The last time we had this verification was in 2019 and there was COVID-19 in 2020, we had many activities in 2021 and 2022. And it has become pertinent that we have to do so now to verify political parties to ensure that the compliance status is in order. These are basically our assignments,” she said.

 

Responding, Ganduje commended the commission for effectively handling the country’s electoral process despite challenges.

 

Ganduje, while speaking on violence before, during and after elections, said the electoral umpire could not be blamed for election violence, adding that politicians must be held responsible.

 

“I know one of the biggest problems of INEC in conducting elections is insecurity. Everyone will say INEC, but it is the politicians,” the APC national chairman said.