By Odi Okojie Media Team
The attention of Hon. Odi Okojie Media Team has been drawn to a news report titled: “INEC to APC: Don’t Give Ticket to Odi Okojie”, written by one Tony Ede and posted on the wall of Esan Mega Forum on Facebook.
We initially wanted to ignore the piece and it’s author, but we decided to react to it, not because it’s of any moment to the campaigns of Hon.Odi Okojie for Senate, but to save the said author of the report from falling fawl of the law on fake news in future as we consider him one of Odi Okojie’s constituents or a potential constituent.
What Tony Ede wrote as his report of the meeting of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) is in violent conflict with what was actually said at the meeting. This is fake news and it’s a criminal offence in Nigeria. We are however allowing the criminal element of the report to slide and allow the sleeping dog to lie low as the author would eventually join us to campaign for Odi Okojie’s senatorial election after his emergence as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
For the avoidance of doubt, INEC lacks the bona fides to dictate to political parties who to nominate as their candidate in any election. The qualification for election into the Senate and House of Representatives are set out in Sections 65 and 66 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. Hon. Odi Okojie has all the qualifications as set out in those relevant sections of the Constitution.
Just to enlighten the author and his co-travellers further; the APC Screening Committee for the Edo Central Senatorial primaries will only tell Hon. Odi Okojie to take a bow and go after submitting his documents because that is the convention as the party is aware that he’s prima facie qualified to contest the election being an incumbent member of the House of Representatives.
In case any candidate nominated by a party is not qualified, INEC also lacks the power to refuse his candidacy or disqualify him, as that is an exclusive preserve of the Courts as contained in our laws.
From what INEC Chairman said at the meeting, it has become conventional for political parties to nominate candidates already holding elective positions to contest bye-elections. The parties avail the elected official in the constituency what is known party political administration as the “Option of first refusal”.President Bola Tinubu will be given this option of first refusal should he decide to seek re-election.
Political parties prefere elected officials to contest bye- elections because they trust that they’ll be able to win election for them as bye-elections are off cycle elections that stand alone, no band wagon effect. The candidates go to the polls on their merit.
That’s why the APC in its wisdom yielded the Edo State governorship ticket to Senator Monday Okpebholo who brought his winning streak to bear on the election and won the election for his party. These are empirical proofs why parties prefere serving elected officials to political neophytes who are yet to win any competitive election like that of the House of Representatives. Parties exist to win election and they present candidates who can do so for them as they don’t exist to pander to the whims and lamentations of those not capable of winning elections.
We would like to thank Tony Ede for informing our political publics that political parties prefere those already in elective positions in off cycle elections like the impending Edo Central Senatorial bye-election; a convention that has already put Hon. Odi Okojie at an advantageous position to pick the APC ticket ahead the Edo Central Senatorial bye-election for 2025. His ill fated report is emblematic of those who pitch their tents in a shrinking political camp that is destined to loose to a more acceptable aspirant and candidate at the party primary election or major election respectively.