INEC lists Valentine Ozigbo as PDP candidate

Nigeria’s electoral agency, INEC has finally listed Valentine Ozigbo as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra governorship poll.

Earlier, the Independent National Electoral Commission, in a list published on July 16, had excluded the candidate of the PDP from the governorship election.

But in a ruling on July 19, a Federal High Court in Awka ordered INEC to publish the name of Ozigbo as the candidate of the PDP.

Similarly, on September 3, the Court of Appeal in Abuja declared Ozigbo as the validly nominated PDP candidate.

In a statement on Thursday issued by its Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, INEC said it has finally obeyed the court order that recognised Ozigbo as the PDP candidate.

Okoye added that the commission also published the name of Lilian Enemo as the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate.

He, however, disclosed that the final list of candidates will be published on October 7, 2021.

“The commission was served with two judgements of the court of appeal (Awka judicial division) in respect of the candidature of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra governorship election.

“The court has ordered the commission to recognise and publish the name of Mr. Valentine Ozigbo as the governorship candidate. Earlier, the party had substituted its Deputy Governorship candidate within the deadline provided by law,” the statement reads in part.