The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the list of governorship and house of assembly candidates for the 2023 elections.
The commission, in a statement, said the list contains the names of candidates validly nominated for state elections at the close of party primaries and the period earmarked for withdrawal and substitution of candidates.
“In summary, the 18 political parties have fielded 837 candidates and their running mates for the 28 Governorship elections that fall due in 2023. For State Assembly elections, 10,231 candidates are vying for 993 State Assembly seats,” the statement reads.
However, the primary that produced Adebutu, a former member of the house of representatives, was held at the Olusegun Obasanjo presidential library in the state capital.
Jimi Lawal, a governorship aspirant, had subsequently approached the court to contest the delegate list that Sikirulahi Ogundele’s faction of the party used during the primary which produced Adebutu.
Other candidates had also approached the court to challenge the authenticity of the Ogundele-led state executive of the party.
The federal high court in Abeokuta had then nullified the parallel governorship primaries, and ruled that the primaries didn’t follow the principles of the electoral act.
