By SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN—AHEAD of the April 20, local government elections in Edo State, the Edo State Independent National Electoral Commission, EDSIEC, has disqualified 12 councillorship candidates of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, over alleged failure to produce their tax clearance certificates.
Reacting, the state chairman of ACN, Mr. Thomas Okosun, said the party will replace the candidates after due consultations with the party leadership in the respective wards.
Vanguard observed that the son of a chieftain of the party in Egor Local Government Area was also affected. Other councils where the councillors were disqualified include Esan Central, Esan West, Etsako West, Owan East, Egor and Ikpoba Okhai.
A source at EDSIEC told Vanguard: “We found out that some of them did not present their tax clearance certificates and so, they are not eligible for the election. We are determined to conduct a free and fair election, so whoever is not qualified for the election will be prevented from contesting.”
Okosun said the party has no problem with EDSIEC, because the “commission was only doing its job as an umpire. So we will consult with the leaders of the party in the affected areas and replace the candidates.”
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