EDO GOVERNORSHIP RACE | IZE-IYAMU IS THE PDP CANDIDATE UNTIL- INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday affirmed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the substantive candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Edo governorship election.

The electoral umpire said this is the situation until there is a contrary decision after studying the July 4 judgement and other judgments on the matter.

Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, Nick Dazng, who stated this in an interview, with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja, said they are waiting for the final outcome of court cases in order to decide the authentic candidate of the party.

Dazang said, “As at now, we have not received the certified true copy of the July 4 judgment of a Federal high Court, Port Harcourt, on the matter. We are waiting for that judgment and other judgments so that we can study them.
“The commission, after studying the judgment and the advice from its lawyers, will then take a position, but we are still waiting for the last judgment which was the one on July 4."

A Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on July 4 disqualified Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman and affirmed Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the party chairman, the same ruling held earlier by a Lagos High Court.

He said the decision will be reached any time from next week, adding that as soon as “we receive them and when the commission sits, a position will be taken. It is when the commission has done that that it will then decide on any faction or candidate it is going to accept.’’

Sequel to that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja had on June 30, affirmed Sheriff as the PDP National Chairman and ordered INEC to recognise any candidate presented by him.

But, the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on July 4 held that the May 21 national convention that removed Sheriff as chairman and put in place the National Caretaker Committee was duly constituted.

The court also ruled that the dissolution of the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee by that convention was valid. In the judgment, Justice Abdullahi Liman, declared that the appointment of the caretaker committee to oversee the party’s affairs was legal and in line with the provisions of PDP Constitution.