Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it would amount to contravening the Electoral Act if it disqualified Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello from participating in the November 16 ballot due to alleged double registration.

According to the electoral umpire, the Electoral Act does not provide for disqualification as a penalty for committing such an offence.

Recall that the commission had, in 2017, accused Governor Bello of double voter registration and said he would have been prosecuted but for his immunity. INEC had also dismissed two of its officials over their alleged roles in the electoral scandal.

But clarifying why Mr. Bello is allowed to contest the election, having been indicted, INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, during a quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja, stated:

“Under the Electoral Act, double registration is not a condition to disqualify a candidate. In any case, the action we took on the part of the officials was administrative.”