The new Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ekiti State, Prof. AbdulGaniy Olayinka Raji, has warned that Governor Ayo Fayose, his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, and some All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants risk getting penalised for campaigning ahead of the time stipulated by law for the 2018 election.
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One of the erected billboards bears Fayose’s pictures and that of his deputy in wherein the governor referred to Olusola as “Your Next Governor”.
Prof. Raji, who spoke on the issue on Wednesday in his office in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital after holding a stakeholders’ meeting with leaders of political parties under the auspices of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said the law empowered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prosecute politicians, who engaged in any form of early campaign before the time allowed by law.
He said, “Activities that look like campaign are against the Constitution and people should desist from them. Media houses should scrutinise jingles and adverts that may implicate them.
“Any offender convicted is liable to a maximum fine of N500,000 and a jail term at the discretion of the judge. The law also permits INEC to remove such billboards.”
