By Seyi Odewale (Lagos)
and David Lawani (Abuja)
As the race for the governorship seat of Edo State in Osadebe Avenue, Benin City hots up, the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), has released the timetable and schedule of activities for the off-season election in the south-south state. It also pegged the price for the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at N10m and N40m respectively.
The sale of nominations, expression of interest and delegate forms for contestants, according to the party, begins on January 10 and to end on January 29, 2024, while the primary election is slated for February 17, 2024.
Also, the party said female aspirants and persons living with disabilities are to pay for Expression of Interest while the Nomination Form is free. “Youths from 25 to 40 years are to purchase Expression of Interest forms with a 50 percent discount on Nomination Forms,” the APC stated.
Recall that the National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday at the Party’s National Secretariat after the Christmas and New Year holidays to deliberate on issues in the party.
The central issue was the Edo State governorship election scheduled to be held in September 2024.
A statement released by the party on its X account said: “ In compliance with relevant sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria & Electoral Act, the APC hereby makes public its Timetable & Schedule of Activities leading to the 21st of September 2024 gubernatorial election in Edo State as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. “
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Apart from Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also fixed November 16, 2024, for a governorship poll in Ondo State.
Ondo and Edo states are two of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements. The others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi and Osun states.
Already, political gladiators in the two states are squaring up where governorship polls will hold this year. The 19 political parties are expected to field a candidate each but the polls, like previous ones, may turn out as two-horse races or at best three-horse races.
The Edo State governorship election promises be a tough one, considering the numerous aspirants jostling for the tickets of their political parties. No doubt, different stakeholders and party bigwigs are keenly watching events as they unfold.
Different camps and caucus groups in the parties have been meeting to plan their strategy on how to win or retain the government seat in Osadebe Avenue.
