IN FULL: Umahi in, Lawan in limbo… INEC releases final list of candidates for 2023 polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of presidential and national assembly candidates for the 2023 general election.

In a statement on Tuesday, the commission said it approved the final list of candidates “pursuant to section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and item 8 of the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election”.

“In summary, all the 18 political parties have fielded candidates and their running mates for the Presidential election. For legislative elections, 1,101 candidates are vying for 109 Senatorial seats and 3,122 candidates for Federal Constituencies i.e. House of Representatives seats, making a total of  4,223 candidates contesting for 469 legislative positions,” the statement reads.

“In terms of gender distribution, 3,875 candidates are male, made up of 35 for Presidential and Vice Presidential, 1,008 for Senate and 2,832 for House of Representatives.

“Similarly, 381 females comprising 1 for Presidential, 92 for Senate, and 288 for House of Representatives are contesting. There are also 11 Persons with Disability (PWDs) in the race.”

According to the list, David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Ebonyi south, while for Yobe north district, there is no senatorial candidate for the APC.

For Yobe north, there has been some controversy over the APC senatorial ticket, and the matter is currently in court.

At a primary organised by the party in May, Bashir Machina had won unopposed, but Ahmad Lawan, senate president, was said to have participated in another primary organised by the APC, after he contested the party’s presidential ticket and lost in June.

For Ebonyi south senatorial district, there had been a tussle between Umahi, who had also contested the APC presidential ticket, and Ann Agom-Eze. The development resulted in a suit filed in court, while Agom-Eze was eventually expelled by Ebonyi APC over alleged anti-party activities.

Meanwhile, Godswill Akpabio, former minister of Niger Delta affairs, whose candidacy had also triggered some controversy, made the final list as the APC candidate for Akwa Ibom north-west.

You can view the full list here.