VOTE Godwin Obaseki For Governor
The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has said he will submit the name of Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as candidate of the party for the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.
Sheriff, who spoke Tuesday in Abuja when he presented certificate of return to Iduoriyekwemwen, said INEC is obliged to receive the name of his candidate for the election, considering a judgment by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which held that he remained the authentic national chairman of the party till 2018.
“It is clear from the judgment of the Abuja High Court, Abuja, that INEC is obliged to accept the candidate we are to present. You know ideally, most of our officials have travelled for Sallah. We need to do this because, the first working day we are going to submit our candidate’s form to INEC.
“I have to stay behind to do some of the things so as to ensure that the forms are submitted the first working day this week, after the Sallah break,” Sheriff said.
Justice Abang, on Thursday, affirmed Sheriff as the PDP national chairman and walked out Makarfi’s lawyers, as he described caretaker committee illegal.
Secretary of the electoral committee for the conduct of Edo State governorship primary and a former political adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Barrister Ahmed Gulak, while presenting a report of the election, said a total of 677 delegates were accredited for the primary while 502 delegates voted.
According to him, out of this number, Iduoriyekwemwen got 481 votes, while his challenger has stepped down for him.
Iduoriyekwemwen, who has chosen former PDP Edo woman leader, Mrs. Herberta Okonofua-Ayo, as his running mate, denied that he was being sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led Edo State government.
He promised to embark on grassroots campaign and assured that PDP would come back stronger in Edo after the governorship election.