There was a political tension in Imo State on Friday as the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to publish any name as the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
INEC released the names of 67 governorship candidates and their respective running mates at its office in Owerri, the state capital.
Our correspondent, who visited the office, saw the candidates’ names and the names of their running mates displayed along with their personal information.
The names on the list included a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former senator, Ifeanyi Araraume as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Others are Micheal Ikoku, Young Democratic Party; Linus Okorie, Young Progressives Party; and Alloysius Osuji, Mass Action Joint Alliance.
A source at the INEC office told our correspondent that there were court orders stopping the commission from publishing any name as the governorship candidate of APC in the state.
Uche Nwosu and Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC have been in court over the confusion surrounding the governorship primaries conducted in the state.
While Nwosu was declared the winner of the October 6, 2018 APC governorship primary, Uzodinma was pronounced winner of the October 1, 2018 primary.
However, Nwosu has described the decision of INEC not to publish the name of anyone as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state as victory for rule of law.