The commission said that it
decided to reject the Ali Modu Sheriff list based on the fact that it didn’t
monitor the primary that produced the faction’s governorship candidate, Mr
Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen.
The Independent National
Electoral Commission has rejected the name of candidate submitted for the
governorship election of Edo State by the Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the
Peoples Democratic Party.
Deputy Director in charge
of Publicity and Voters’ Education at the commission’s headquarters, Mr. Nick
Dazang, stated this in a text message to our correspondent late on Tuesday
night.
He said that the commission
had accepted the name submitted by the Chairman of the party’s National
Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi.
Pastor Ize Iyamu is the
candidate of the Makarfi-led faction of the party.
He said that the commission
had received names of governorship candidates from 18 other political parties,
apart from the PDP.
He said, “As at this
evening, we received 19 candidates from 19 political parties for the Edo
governorship election.
“This includes the
candidate of the Makarfi-led faction of the PDP. We received the candidate of
the Makarfi-led faction because of the Port Harcourt Court judgement plus the
fact that we monitored its primaries.”
Other political parties
listed include AA, ACD, ACPN, APC, APGA, LP, MPPP, NCP, NNPP, PDC, PPA, PPN,
SDP, UPP and YDP.
The two factions had on
Monday submitted names of their governorship candidates for the state to the to
the commission.
Both men and their
followers are currently locked in legal battle over the leadership of the
opposition party.
The deadline for the
submission of names of governorship candidates by political parties for the
governorship election according to the timetable released by the commission was
midnight of Tuesday.
The election holds on
September 10.
Spokesperson for the Sheriff
camp, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, had told our correspondent on the telephone that the
party has done the needful.
Deputy National Chairman of
the group, Dr. Cairo Ojugboh, said his faction was relying on the court order
that ordered that only the Sheriff group should be allowed to submit names of
candidates for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
He said he was sure that
the candidate that emerged at the primary conducted by the Sheriff faction, Mr.
Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen, would make the INEC final list.
He said his faction would
contest the action of the commission, adding that the pronouncement by the
court was clear in the matter.
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