Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja

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.

The commission said that it decided to reject
the list based on the fact that it didn’t
monitor the primary that produced the
faction’s governorship candidate, Mr.
Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen.

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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