Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released names of gubernatorial candidates in Lagos, among other States of the federation.
The electoral body had slated today, Tuesday, October 4, for the publication of the final list of nominated candidates for governorship and state houses of assembly in line with section 32 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, which stipulates that the list of candidates be published at least 150 days before the election.
Checks by Quest Times revealed that the name of the self-styled Labour Party gubernatorial candidate for Lagos Ifagbemi Awamaridi was missing in the list while INEC published his rival Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the authentic Labour Party candidate for the 2023 gubernatorial election in the State.
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Awamaridi had faulted the primary that produced Gbadebo as the Labour Party candidate for Lagos, saying the substitution primary was “illegal”.
Gbadebo, on the other hand, claimed Awamaridi was a “placeholder” for the party’s governorship candidate slot.
The development has stirred controversies in the party in recent times.