It was different strokes for different folks in Edo State as senatorial aspirants for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, go to court to contest the final list of candidates just released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC from which their names were missing, while the ruling All Progressives Congress said no aspirant has gone to court to complain.
An ADC Edo North senatorial aspirant, Musa Brama, announced that he was seeking legal redress over alleged substitution of his name with that of Aruna Abubakari whom he claimed didn’t take part in the party’s primary election, vowing to recover his allegedly stolen ticket.
in a similar vein, Sunny Aguebor, who contested for the Edo South senatorial ticket on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has also dragged the party to court seeking the reinstatement of his candidacy.
Brama said he was surprised that his name was substituted for a person who did not take part in the primaries assuring that he would get back his ticket legally.
Describing the action as criminal and would not be allowed to stand, Brama said, “I am in court to retrieve my ticket because I was the sole candidate at the primaries and the man whose name appears on the list didn’t take part in the primaries. It is a criminal act and it will not stand.”
However, the state ADC spokesperson, Chris Ojeikere said the matter would be settled soon.
Also, NDC’s Aguebor who insisted that his candidacy would be decided by the court, asserted that attempts to remove his name have failed. He said the evidence before the court is clear, emphasising that he would get his ticket back before the 2027 general elections.
According to him, “The fact is that my candidacy will be decided by the court. They have tried to remove my name and replace it with that of another person, but I approached the court to settle the matter. INEC is also in court to ensure that my candidacy is restored.
“Though I have not seen the final list, but I am sure the court will rule in my favour.”
On the contrary, the All Progressives Congress, APC, said it had no issues with INEC’s final list. The party’s publicity secretary, Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, said many of the party members realised that the primary was a contest which would be won by one person and that no one had approached the court for any form of settlement.
Uwadiae-Igbinigie said, “Our party has an internal conflict resolution mechanism. The primary election is an internal affair, and we always have more than two people vying for tickets.
“However, our party members are very understanding. Due to the approach and the likeable nature of the Governor Monday Okpebholo, those that didn’t get the ticket are staying back are working for the party.
“The party is coasting to victory in the next general election, and I can assure you that the campaign team is moving with momentum and enthusiasm,” he added.
