The story I used for the short story competition contains the names of locations such as PERETORU in Bayelsa State of Nigerian which is not farmiliar with this UK based publishing company.
Will it make other stories to have advantage over my story?
The Admin can also answer me on this.
As a reader, I would say names matter - whether placenames or names of characters. Personally I would try to use names that would not only be familiar to my intended readers but would arouse some particular reaction in them - eg a story set in Glasgow immediately sets up a different expectation from one set in Kensington. I can't speak about Peretoru! Another thought is that fantasy and science fiction stories often use invented names, many of which are no more exotic and unfamiliar than Peretoru.
Good luck with your competition entry.
The answer would be no, if you're content and work is good then the titles and names matter very little.