The All Progressives Congress’s Edo chapter’s leaders and supporters demanded on Sunday that the three winners of Saturday’s governorship primary be eliminated.
Dennis Idahosa emerged victorious from the poll conducted at the Protea Hotel in Imo State, according to Governor Hope Uzodimma, who also holds the position of Chairman of the Primary Election Committee. The poll garnered 40,453 votes.
At Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s home, Stanley Ugboaja, the returning officer, also announced Monday Okpebholo as the winner with 12,145 votes.
Anamero Dekeri, who received 25,384 votes, was declared the winner of the contest on Sunday by the local government’s returning officers, who were led by Ojo Babatunde.
As the drama goes on, Idahosa received congratulations from APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje for becoming the party’s nominee.
Emmanuel Godwin led a group of irate APC stakeholders who attacked Uzodimma during a press conference on Sunday in Abuja for supposedly announcing a winner while collation was still going on.
The stakeholders rejected the result and called on President Bola Tinubu and Ganduje not to give recognition to Uzodimma’s declared candidate.
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Godwin said, “We have been inundated with news that a particular candidate was announced yesterday by His Excellency, Hope Uzodimma. It is unfortunate that Uzodimma, who is not the returning officer in whatever capacity, assumed the position and went ahead to announce Dennis Idahosa when the returning officers were still collating the results.
“We wish to therefore state categorically that the purported announcement is null and void and it should be disregarded in its entirety. Governor Uzodimma lacks the power to usurp duties and responsibilities of local government returning officers in the Edo State primaries.
“We call on the National Chairman of our great party, the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and President Bola Tinubu to as a matter of honour discard Governor Uzodimma’s infamous declaration of one Mr Dennis Idahosa who didn’t win the primaries.
“It is also on record that in a viral video, the state chairman of the party, Jarret Tenebe, remarked that only Dekeri and Okpebholo are the two aspirants legally qualified to contest the primaries because only the duo complied with the APC guidelines of payment of membership validation exercise.”