The PDP has been in a leadership crisis for the past few months, with the party split between Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, and Ali Modu Sheriff, the factional Chairman of the party.
The two rival factions of the divided Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) each submitted their respective Edo State gubernatorial candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, the deadline for candidate submission.
The PDP has been in a leadership crisis for the past few months, with the party split between Ahmed Makarfi, Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, and Ali Modu Sheriff, the factional Chairman of the party.
Mr. Makarfi and his supporters nominated Osagie Ize-Iyamu, while the Sheriff faction nominated Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen for the September 10 election.
The spokesperson for Makarfi faction, Dayo Adeyeye, told Punch Newspaper that he was confident that INEC would approve of Mr. Ize-Iyamu.
“We are not expecting the commission to deny them [the candidate and running mate] recognition. We have nothing to fear,” he said.
However, supporters of Mr. Sheriff have argued that their nominee would be recognized, as a Federal High Court had ordered that only the Sheriff camp could submit candidates for the elections in Edo and Ondo States.
“We have submitted the name of our governorship candidate for the Edo election based on the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja,” said Deputy National Chairman of the Sheriff faction, Cairo Ojugboh.
“The commission ordered INEC not to accept the lists of our [PDP] governorship candidates for the election in Edo and Ondo States from any other body except from the Sheriff-led faction.
“It was Justice Okon Aband who said this while delivering a ruling in an interlocutory application filed by two governorship aspirants on the platform of the PDP in Edo and Ondo States.”
According to Punch Newspaper, however, INEC did not accept candidates from either faction. As of 4:52 PM, Nick Dazang, Deputy Director of Publicity and Voter Education, said that six parties had submitted their gubernatorial candidates for the Edo State election, but the PDP was not among them.
