By: Akinjide Adebowale
In a public release sent to the Zik Hall community on May 21, 2023, the Electoral Committee of the Hall announced the lifting of the ban on electoral activities within the Hall. The communiqué, signed by the committee chairman, Mubarak Olapade, who was appointed according to the Hall’s constitution, stated that the purchase of forms would begin on May 22, 2023, and end on May 25, 2023.
Furthermore, the release outlined the minimum requirements for executive positions within the Hall, which include a minimum CGPA of 2.2 (second class lower division), in accordance with the Hall’s constitution. The additional requirements for aspirants are as follows:
- Only individuals officially allocated to Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall are eligible to vote and be voted for.
- Fresh students are eligible to vote but cannot contest for executive positions. However, they are eligible to contest for legislative positions (floor representative).
- Any Zikite who has been accused of an offense by the Students’ Disciplinary Commission (SDC) and found guilty will not be allowed to contest or be voted for.
- Aspirants with pending cases before the SDC are not eligible to contest.
- Each aspirant must have one agent and one referee, both of whom must be bonafide Zikites.
- Aspirants for executive positions are expected to score at least 45% during the screening, while those running for legislative positions must score a minimum of 40%.
Moreover, the guidelines for the election and campaign activities were explicitly stated as follows:
- Posters and advertisements should not be placed or written on unauthorized locations.
- Unauthorized locations for campaign materials include walls, doors, rails, floors, kitchenettes, bathrooms, toilets, and tanks.
- Authorized locations for campaign materials include pressboards, noticeboards, personal billboards, and banners.
- Each aspirant must submit two copies of their manifesto to the electoral commission before the screening day.
- Accredited poll agents should serve as observers for their candidates and display signed accredited tags on their chests during voting and the counting period to avoid any possible confusion.
- Open campaigning starts immediately after the ban is lifted and ends at 11:59 pm the day before the election. Any campaign that continues beyond this time will result in automatic disqualification of the candidate.
- All aspirants are required to attend all activities mandated by the commission for the election and must be punctual.
- Aspirants are advised to write their full names and preferred known-as (p.k.a), if any, on the application form, as they would like them to appear on the ballot.
- Candidates must refrain from defaming the character of their opponents during campaign activities and manifesto presentations.
- Final year students are not eligible to contest.
- Any petitions arising from the conduct of the election should be addressed to the Zik Hall Judicial Council.
- All eligible Zikites are strongly advised to strictly adhere to the stated guidelines for the conduct of the election.
Additionally, the article mentioned the prices for the various positions. The price for the Hall Chairman position was set at N4,000, while other executive positions were priced at N3,500. The form price for Floor Representatives was set at N2,500.
