A crisis seems to be setting in at the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where members are laying claim to the party’s gubernatorial ticket.
Governor Hope Uzodinma, the Chairman of the seven-man electoral committee for the Edo governorship election on Saturday afternoon, declared a House of Representatives member, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, as the winner of the exercise.
But a few hours later, the returning officer of the committee, Dr. Stanley Ugboajah, announced Sen. Monday Okpenholo as the winner of the election.
Uzodimma, while announcing the earlier results, said the election was peaceful across the 18 local governments and 192 wards and that Idahosa polled 40,453 votes to emerge as the winner.
But Ugboajah said Sen. Monday Okpepholo polled 12,145 votes to defeat the other contestants.
He said Idahosa scored 5,536 votes to emerge second.
His words, “I hereby certify that Monday Okpepholo, having scored the highest votes, is declared the winner and duly returned as the APC candidate for the election.”
Meanwhile, a statement from the National Secretariat disclaimed the unauthorized announcement of the primary election results.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka Esq, said, “The attention of the National Working Committee of our great party has been drawn to a live broadcast on major national television stations and online news outlets of the results of the ongoing Edo State APC Governorship Primary Election by some unauthorized persons.
“We wish to state categorically that only the Governor Hope Uzodinma-led Edo State APC Governorship Primary Election Committee is duly authorized to undertake the final collation and announcement of the results of the primary election in the state.
“We urge all party members, officials in the state, and the general public to disregard the said announcement of results by these unauthorized persons.”
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
