This is certainly news for political aspirants in Ogun State as the State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), has amended the age qualification for candidates in the November 16 local government elections, reducing the minimum age from 30 to 25 years.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Commission’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, and made available to media houses on Friday, 6 September, 2024 .
Osibodu stated that the amendment followed a review of the laws governing the conduct of Local Government elections, bringing the guidelines in line with Section 7(4) & 106 of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that a candidate is qualified for election if he or she has attained the age of 25 years.
The Commission also extended the deadline for each party’s primaries by one week.
Parts of the statement read: “The primaries, initially set to end on Monday, September 9, will now run until Monday, September 16, 2024. The collection of personal data forms (CF001 and CF002) by each political party has also been extended to Friday, September 20, 2024.
“Political parties that have already conducted their primaries may collect the necessary forms for each of their candidates starting from Tuesday, September 10, 2024, with submissions accepted between Monday, September 16, and Friday, September 20, 2024.
“All other schedules in the previously published election timetable remain unchanged; including the Chairmanship and Councillorship elections set to hold on November 16, 2023.”
The Commission also announced that all political parties planning to run in the elections are invited to a meeting by 12:00 pm on Monday, September 9, 2024, at the Commission’s headquarters in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta.
Osibodu, however, requested that each political party should send not more than two representatives to the meeting.
