Sokoto INEC detects 7 teenage assembly candidates
INEC in Sokoto state has detected seven teenage House of Assembly candidates fielded by some political parties in the state.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Garba Bawa, disclosed this to journalists in Sokoto, after a rally staged to mobilise the people to participate in the ongoing voter registration at the weekend.
``The under-aged candidates were detected during the recent INEC verification exercise conducted for over 275 contestants for the state and national assemblies' positions,'' he said.
Bawa, however, declined to disclose the political parties of the under-aged candidates.
''That will not serve any purpose. What matters most is that INEC wanted to verify all the candidates' claims on age, qualifications and other requirements,'' he said.
He, nonetheless, said that the political parties which presented the screened-out teenage candidates, were given the chance to present substitutes.
``We are out to make sure that all the candidates cleared by INEC for the elections are eligible to contest for the positions,'' he added.
Bawa expressed INEC's determination to conduct free, fair, credible elections that would be acceptable to the people.
Besides, he urged the people to come out en-masse and register for the elections before the end of the exercise on Monday.
Bawa commended the state government and the 23 local government councils in the state for their efforts to ensure the success of the exercise.
``We are however appealing to the people to sustain the tempo and come out to collect their voter cards if they have not done so,'' he urged.
The commissioner also said that doing so was the only way they would be able to exercise their franchise during the forthcoming general elections.