The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said presidential candidates of political parties can only change their running mates, if the latter officially write the electoral body, with an affidavit.
INEC’s National Commissioner of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, made the clarification on Monday.
He said “The law says that as a presidential candidate, you must nominate an associate to run with you and as far as the Independent National Electoral Commission is concerned, the presidential candidates have submitted their associates to run with them in the presidential election.
“As far as we are concerned, there’s no form submitted by the presidential candidate where they said ‘we’re submitting this person’s name as a place or space holder’.
“The issue of space or place holder is a unique Nigerian invention that has no place in our constitutional and legal framework.“For there to be a substitution of the candidate, the Vice presidential candidate must write to INEC, with an affidavit stating that he is withdrawing from the race within the time frame provided by the law. That’s the only way there can be a substitution of candidates
