The African Democratic Congress (ADC) senatorial candidate for Delta South, Dr Austin Orette, has unveiled his political agenda ahead of the 2027 general elections, with emphasis on electoral reform, security, healthcare, infrastructure, youth employment and accountability in public institutions.
Orette, who spoke to party supporters and journalists in Ozoro, headquarters of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, on Thursday, also condemned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the alleged omission of his name from its published list of senatorial candidates.
He demanded an explanation from the commission and called for the matter to be resolved through the appropriate electoral procedure.
“My concern is not simply that my name was omitted from the list published by INEC, but how such an omission occurred after my party submitted my candidacy. I am demanding that INEC explain clearly what happened, verify its records and, if the omission was an administrative error, correct it through the proper procedure,” Orette said.
“The electoral process must not deny any qualified candidate a democratic opportunity because of an unexplained administrative failure.”
He said INEC should clarify whether his nomination was properly received, whether the information submitted by the ADC was correctly captured and at what stage the alleged omission occurred.
“I am not asking INEC for a favour. I am asking for the law and the established process to be applied correctly. If there was an error, it should be identified and corrected through the proper procedure. If there was no error, INEC should explain clearly why my name was omitted despite my party’s submission,” he said.
The ADC also called on INEC to review the alleged omission and ensure that the name of its nominated candidate for Delta South is properly reflected in the official candidate list.
Orette said the development highlighted the need for greater transparency in the handling of candidate information, proposing an auditable process from party nomination and submission to INEC verification and publication.
He also proposed mandatory acknowledgement of candidate submissions, a rapid mechanism for correcting wrongly omitted names and accountability for officials found to have negligently or unlawfully mishandled candidate information.
