2023: INEC Says Its Chairman Won’t Contest For President

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, will not join the 2023 presidential race, the commission has said.

In a statement published on its Twitter handle Sunday morning, INEC said its chairman will definitely not join the presidential race.

“It is a preposterous proposition. It will not happen,” the commission said of suggestions Mr Yakubu could throw his hat into the ring.

“The Chairman remains an umpire committed to free, fair and credible elections,” Rotimi Oyekanmi, Mr Yakubu’s chief press secretary, wrote in the statement.

Many Nigerians had joked on social media that with the number and diversity of persons declaring interest in the presidential race, even the INEC boss may declare an ambition.

About 25 people have bought the presidential nomination forms of the ruling party, APC, while 17 people bought the presidential nomination forms of the main opposition party, PDP. This is despite both parties fixing what many Nigerians considered exorbitant prices for their forms.

The APC presidential nomination form is sold for N100 million while that of the PDP is sold for N40 million.

Both parties are expected to hold their primaries and elect their candidates by the end of May.