The Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) says it has cleared all candidates presented by political parties for the local government polls slated for Nov. 4.
Its Chairman, Dr. Mike Ajogwu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Enugu that the candidates were cleared after a thorough screening.
“The commission met with leaders of all political parties in the state and resolved that every candidate presented by the political parties is free to contest. We did not disqualify anyone,” he said.
He said that all names submitted by political parties on or before Oct. 26, 2017 were considered and certified.
NAN reports that the commission had disqualified 73 candidates over tax-related issues last week, a development that angered the APC Chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, who accused the electoral body of being unfair to his party.
Nwoye alleged that his party was the sole target of the disqualification, claiming that candidates of other political parties, who had similar issues, were cleared.
“The new development has settled that dispute and cleared the ground for all candidates to get to the field and test their popularity on Nov. 4,” Ajogwu told NAN.