The socialist party of Nigeria (SPN) have notified the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) of their decision not to accept the offer of provisional registration in the forthcoming Local Government Elections.
In a press statement signed by the State’s secretary, Ayodeji Adigun, the decision was reached after a deeper consideration and wider consultation over its possible implications
According to him, the party came to a realization that the particular section of the OYSIEC electoral law that the Commission hopes to rely upon to offer the party the so-called provisional registration in order to participate in the forthcoming local government election is inconsistent with the provision of Section 222(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) that empowers only INEC as the body to register political parties for the purpose of participating in any election
Flowing from this background the party strongly believes that the outcome of its participation can easily be challenged and invalidated in any court of competent jurisdiction on a ground that the basis of r participating in the election is inconsistent with the Constitution, hence illegal and unlawful
He furthermore opined that the party be allowed to participate in the upcoming Oyo State Local Government election on the basis of a favorable Court of Appeal judgment that nullified its undemocratic deregistration by the INEC in CA/ABJ/CV/507/2020 ACD & AMP; 21 ORS v. AG. FED & AMP; INEC (please find a Certified True Copy attached) with an order of immediate re-enlistment on the ground that INEC failed to follow a due process in implementing Section 225 (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) which it relied upon to carry out the deregistration
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is still valid and subsisting and has to be obeyed except the Supreme Court upturns it. We do not need to state that the INEC needs to file a valid appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria to set aside the judgement.
The Until the Supreme Court decides otherwise, the SPN remains a registered political party with a legal right to participate in the local government election without the involvement of any auxiliary means.
