One female Governorship candidate, Patience Ndidi of the People’s Redemption Party is to slug it out with 16 male candidates in the September off-cycle governorship election in Edo state.
The name of the 50-year-old female candidate is contained in the final list of candidates for the election published on Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The list put an end to weeks of speculations that the Labour Party had replaced Alufohai Faith as its deputy governorship candidate due to disparities in her document submitted to the Commission.
In a statement on Monday, national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun said Political Parties are now permitted to start campaign in public from Wednesday, 24th of April 2024 and end at midnight on Thursday, 19th of September 2024 as indicated in items 8 and 12 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.
Meanwhile, The Edo State chapter of Labour Party (LP) has faulted the final list as published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in which the deputy governorship candidate is listed as Oluyinka Faith Alufohai rather than Alhaji Asamah Yusuf Kadiri, (SAN) whom the party claimed was used to substitute Alufohai.
In a statement on Monday, the State Chairman of Labour Party Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi said technical glitche at the National Headquarters of the party may have been responsible for why the incorrect name appeared.
According to Comrade Ogbaloi, labour party followed all necessary procedures and submitted Alhaji Kadiri’s name and credentials as the deputy governorship candidate, well within INEC’s stipulated window.
He said the party are currently actively engaged with INEC officials to rectify this issue immediately and are providing all requisite documentation demonstrating Alhaji Kadiri’s valid nomination.
The Edo State Governorship Election is scheduled to hold on Saturday, 21st of September 2024.