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<\/a><\/div>\nWhen contacted, Toyin Buoro, INEC\u2019s Public Relations Officer in Edo, acknowledged that the office had also observed the entries.<\/p>\n
Mrs Buoro noted, however, that the observation had been referred to the appropriate authorities at INEC headquarters.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur observation too, but that was what was sent from the headquarters, and we have drawn the attention of the appropriate quarters to it, awaiting their reply,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gender imbalance<\/strong><\/h3>\nBeyond the questions surrounding the duplicated names, the list also reveals a substantial gender imbalance in the race.<\/p>\n
Of the 164 candidates counted, 148 are men, representing 90.24 per cent, while only 16 are women, accounting for 9.76 per cent.<\/p>\n
This means about nine male candidates for every female candidate.<\/p>\n
The figures indicate that women remain significantly underrepresented among those seeking seats in the state legislature, despite years of advocacy for greater female participation in elective politics.<\/p>\n
A breakdown of the 16 female candidates by party shows the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has the most, with four women, followed by the Action Democratic Party (ADP) with three.<\/p>\n
The Labour Party (LP) has two female candidates. In contrast, the All Progressives Congress (APC), PDP, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), and APM each have one female candidate.<\/p>\n
For the APC, the female candidate is Maria Edeko, aged 63, contesting the Esan North East II seat in the state assembly for a second term.<\/p>\n
The PDP\u2019s female candidate is Uyigue Efosa, aged 61, contesting in Ovia North East I. Meanwhile, the NDC has Natasha Osawaru, aged 32, contesting the Egor seat for a second term.<\/p>\n
READ ALSO:\u00a0PDP, Pantami give INEC three days to publish name as Gombe governorship candidate<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\nThe SDP, which has four women on the list, has Kemi Akerele in Akoko Edo I, Shirley Negbedion in Esan North East I, Imuetinyan Bright in Egor and Tracy Ogiemwanye in Ikpoba-Okha.<\/p>\n
The ADP\u2019s three female candidates are Bukky Ayetan in Egor, Osarenkhoe Erhunmwunse in Ikpoba-Okha and Patience Edobor in Orhionmwon I.<\/p>\n
The figures show that women are contesting across different political platforms and constituencies, but their overall share remains below 10 per cent of the candidates listed.<\/p>\n
The SDP, which has four women on the list, has Kemi Akerele in Akoko Edo I, Shirley Negbedion in Esan North East I, Imuetinyan Bright in Egor and Tracy Ogiemwanye in Ikpoba-Okha.<\/p>\n
The ADP\u2019s three female candidates are Bukky Ayetan in Egor, Osarenkhoe Erhunmwunse in Ikpoba-Okha and Patience Edobor in Orhionmwon I.<\/p>\n
The figures show that women are contesting across different political platforms and constituencies, but their overall share remains below 10 per cent of the candidates listed.<\/p>\n