Nigeria’s political parties on Thursday resorted to last-minute rush to beat the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) deadline for the submission of list of candidates for the 2019 general elections.

According to INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, only eight parties submitted their nominations for Presidential and National Assembly out of 89 political parties by Tuesday, 16 October. The others appeared to have settled to do so at the last minute.
INEC had scheduled the submission of candidates’ names for the Presidential and National Assembly between Oct. 10 and Oct. 18, and deadline for the Governorship and State Assemblies election on Nov. 2.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents who were at the venue of the exercise, International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja, reported that many party leaders and representatives were just arriving at the venue at about 6:00 p.m.

Some of the party leaders and candidates who spoke with newsmen attributed the delay to the cumbersome process involved in the filling of the forms and large size of the country.
To fast track the submission process, INEC grouped the political parties into seven groups, comprising 13 parties each.

Some of the parties’ representatives came into the venue with some of their forms to obtain tally, while still sorting other forms elsewhere, to beat the deadline.

Some were seen using torch lights at the car park to sort their forms before submission. The submission process was going on smoothly as at 8:00 p.m. with the premises still crowded with parties representatives. (NAN)