By Dennis Agbo

ENUGU—THE Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIEC, has reserved it’s previous decision to disqualify over 74 candidates of opposition political parties in the November 4 council poll.

ENSIEC took the decision after a tensed meeting it held with stakeholders of political parties participating in the scheduled election.

Chairman of the commission, Chief Mike Ajogwu said the reversed decision was taken based on sections 106 and 107 of the 1999 constitution which stipulates the criteria for qualification of candidates.

ENSIEC had last week disqualified some of the candidates for different reasons such as non possession of tax clearance certificate, Permanent Voters Card, PVC, among other requirements.

Addressing newsmen after  the ENSIEC meeting, state chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Ben Nwoye applauded  ENSIEC’s reversed  decision.

Nwoye said there were still pending issues that needed to   be resolved with the commission and advised ENSIEC not to  allow itself to be   dragged into illegality.

Nwoye, who inisisted that ENSIEC has no legal power to screen candidiates sponsored by poltical parties, differed with ENSIEC for inisiting that candidates who were unable to participate in the screening exercise carried out   by the commission remained disqualifed.

Chairman of Hope Democratic Party, HDP, Adonys Igwe said he was not very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, maintaining that it expects ENSIEC to  write the parties of the clearance since the parties were written when the candidates were disqualified.