From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to receive a new list of candidates for Edo State who are contesting election into the state and national assemblies.
The Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity of the Commission in Edo, Timidi Wariowei, stated this in reaction to a purported list being circulated in social media which was said to have emanated from INEC.
“People should be wary of many of these online publications flying everywhere. We are not hiding anything, there is no new list from INEC as of today and issues are still in court so whatever the court decides, INEC will act accordingly.
“If there is any court directive we will comply but as of today, what we have is what has been displayed and we will also comply if there is any directive to carry out any other action,” Wariowei said.
The purported new list of candidates said to be from Governor Godwin Obaseki’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had generated mixed reactions.
The list reportedly caused jubilation in the camp of the supporters of Obaseki who shared them in various social media platforms while the same created anxiety in the camp of members loyal to the National Vice Chairman, South-South of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih.
Several cases on who are the authentic candidates of the PDP are still pending in court even as the Supreme Court recently ruled in one of the cases that the courts have no jurisdiction on who the delegates and candidates of political parties are, insisting that these issues are purely the internal affairs of the parties.