- Safiu Kehinde
The Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has dropped the age limit for candidates in the forthcoming local government elections in the state from 30 to 25 years.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by the commission’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, in Abeokuta.
Babatunde said this was the result of a review of the laws governing conduct of the state’s Local Government elections.
The OGSIEC Chairman stressed that it was to bring the guidelines in line with Sections 7 (4) & 106 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It stipulates that a candidate is qualified for the local government election if he or she has attained the age of 25 years.
The statement further disclosed the extension of party primaries ahead of the November 16 LG election.
“Following this adjustment, OGSIEC has extended the deadline for each party’s primaries by one week,” Osibodu said.
“The collection of personal data forms (CF 001 and CF 002) by each political party has also been extended to Sept. 20.
“Political parties which have already conducted their primaries may collect the necessary forms for each of their candidates starting from Tuesday, with submissions accepted between Sept. 16 and Sept. 20.
“Additionally, a meeting with all political parties has been scheduled for Monday at the commission’s headquarters in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta,” the statement added.