There were no surprises as the Independent National Electoral Commission unveiled a list of eight hundred and thirty seven (837) Governorship candidates,10,240 state Assembly candidates vying for 993 seats in 28 state Assembly constituencies duly cleared candidates for next year’s state elections.

Names of candidates with pending court cases were, however, excluded in the final list of candidates for various state elective positions in the 2023 general elections released by the nation’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission,(INEC) on Tuesday.

Those whose names were omitted by INEC include governorship candidates from Delta, Ogun and Zamfara states on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In Delta state, Onyeme Monday and Oborevusori Sheriff Francis Orohwedor both Governorship and deputy Governorship candidates were not cleared due to what INEC called “court order”, the situation was the same in Zamfara state where PDP candidates for the state’s number one and two seats were not cleared due to court order.

Ogun state Governorship, deputy Governorship and all candidates for the State House of Assembly on the PDP platform were also not cleared due to a court order.

In all,25 Governorship and deputy Governorship candidates of the PDP were cleared to run in the February 2023 elections. The party’s Governorship candidate for Ebonyi state was missing on the list although Igwe Paulinus Nwagu,63 year old legal practitioner was cleared as the deputy Governorship candidate.

The PDP final list of candidates for the state elections , however, showed a clear case of paucity of female candidates. Out of 1,024 candidates cleared for the elections, only 47 candidates are females.

Akwa Ibom has the highest number of female candidates with a deputy Governorship candidate ,Eyakenyi Akon Etim and four House of Assembly candidates. Cross River state has a deputy Governorship candidate,Ambrose-Amawhe Emana and two other House of Assembly candidates while Adamawa state also has a deputy Governorship candidate on the ticket of the PDP and one female House of Assembly candidates.

Edo state has four female House of Assembly Candidates, although their fate is hanging due to court order,Delta state has two female candidates while Enugu has three candidates.

Borno state has no female candidate on the PDP tickets while Kano state has only one candidate out of the 42 candidates presented by the PDP.

Also there are only two medical doctors on the list,nine PhD holders 33 legal practitioners, 19 law graduates( those yet to attend the Nigerian Law School) and 408 graduates with the Higher National Diploma , Bachelor degrees or Masters.

The cleared PDP list also showed one unique trend- 16 of the deputy Governorship candidate on the ticket of the PDP are older than their principals- the governors.

The Governorship candidate for Akwa Ibom state,Eno Umo Bassey, is 58 years old while the deputy Governorship candidate, Eyakenyi Akon Etim is 62years old. In Adamawa state, the Governorship candidate,Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri is 54 year old while his deputy ,Farauta George Kaletapwa is 56 years old.

In Benue state, the Governorship candidate,Uba Tyoapine Titus is 56 years old while his deputy, Ngbede John Ilodu is 69 years old. In Borno state, the Governorship candidate, Ali Mohammed is 42 years old while his deputy Governorship candidate,Kids Saleh Ahmed is 70 year old.

Gombe state PDP Governorship candidate ,Jibrin Muhammad Barde is 51 years old while his deputy Governorship candidate,Danlele Timothy A. is 75 years old. The situation is the same in Jigawa state where the Governorship candidate,Lamido Mustaph Sule,39 years old while his deputy Governorship candidate, Ibrahim Babandi, is 56 years old.

In Kaduna state, the Governorship candidate, Mohammed Ashiru Isa, is 59 years old while his deputy Governorship candidate,Dr. Ayuba John Markus, is 64 years old. Katsina’s Garba Yakubu Lado is 60 years old while his deputy is 65 years old.

Kebbi state Governorship candidate, Bande Aminu is 58 years old while his deputy,Salihu Bui Samaila is 64 years old. Nasarawa state candidate, Emmanuel David Ombugadu is 44 years old while his deputy ,Usman Yahaya Ohinoyi is 49 years old.

In Oyo state, Makinde Oluseyi Abiodun is 54years old while his deputy,Lawal Adebayo Adeleke is 68 years old. Rivers state deputy Governorship candidate,ODU Ngozi, is 69 years old while the Governorship candidate,Fubara Siminalayi,is 47 years old.

Taraba state deputy Governorship candidate, Abdullahi Aminu Alkali, is 10 years older than the Governorship candidate,Kefas Agbu while the Plateau state Governorship candidate, Mutfwang Caleb Manasseh is 57 years old his deputy,Piyo Josephine Chundung is 65 years old.

The PDP Governorship candidate for Zamfara state,Lawal Dauda is 56 years old while his deputy, Mani Mallam Mummuni is 61 years old. Niger state’s PDP Governorship candidate , Liman Isah Kantiga ,is a year younger than his deputy ,Gwomna Samuel, who is 62years old.