A former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has emerged as the consensus candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the Nasarawa North Senatorial District bye-election scheduled for 20 June to fill vacant legislative seats in six states.
Similarly, Simon Eze, a seasoned diplomat, emerged as the party’s consensus candidate for Enugu North Senatorial District, while Sam Kinanee clinched the ticket for Rivers South-East Senatorial District and Ige Asemudara emerged candidate for Ondo South Senatorial District.
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The candidates emerged during the party’s primaries held on Monday across the affected constituencies.
The Labour Party National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, noting that the exercise was conducted in compliance with the directives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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The candidates will contest the bye-elections in their respective constituencies. The seats became vacant following the deaths of lawmakers who previously represented the constituencies.
The deceased senators are Okechukwu Ezea (Enugu North), Godiya Akwashiki (Nasarawa North), and Barinada Mpigi (Rivers South-East).
The Ondo South Senatorial seat became vacant following the appointment of its occupant, Jimoh Ibrahim, as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, subsequently declared the seats vacant in March and directed INEC to conduct bye-elections in the affected districts.
INEC has fixed 20 June for the conduct of the bye-elections alongside the Ekiti off-cycle governorship poll. Labaran Maku
READ ALSO: Labaran Maku returns to PDP, seeks forgiveness, Nasarawa governorship seat
Other candidates
Other candidates who emerged through the same consensus process include Abubakar Muhammad for the Dawaki Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency by-election in Kano State, and Muhammad Galadima for the Zuru State Constituency bye-election in Kebbi State.
The Labour Party commended INEC for its professionalism and diligence in monitoring the primaries, which it said were conducted peacefully, transparently, and successfully across the affected constituencies
The party also congratulated the successful candidates and called on its members, supporters, and “lovers of democracy” in the affected districts and constituencies to rally behind them ahead of the bye-elections.
The party reiterated that, as a platform founded on the principles of social democracy, equal opportunity, and social justice, it carefully selected candidates with proven competence, integrity, and commitment to its ideals.
