The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of candidates and their running mates for the 16 November Ondo State governorship election.
Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman, of the Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, 13 June stating that required details of the candidates and their running mates have been published at INEC state and local government offices in Ondo State.
He said in line with the provision of Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, two political parties, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) conducted fresh primaries to replace their earlier nominated candidates and their running mates by the deadline of 10 June. That five parties; the African Action Congress (AAC), the Action Democratic Party (ADP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), replaced their running mates only.
“Overall, 17 political parties are fielding candidates for the election. No political party has nominated a female candidate while one candidate nominated by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a person with disability (a paraplegic). The final list also gives the breakdown of the candidates by age and academic qualifications. The list has been published at our office in Akure and also uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information,” Olumekun said.
According to him following the conclusion of the nomination process, political parties were now permitted to start public campaigns from Wednesday (19 June) till the midnight of 14 November.
