Saturday’s primary election in Edo State has been declared inconclusive by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The election, which sparked controversy, resulted in the emergence of three different candidates.
The chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee, Governor Hope Uzodimma, at Protea Hotel, Benin declared a member of the House of Representatives, Dennis Idahosa, as the winner.
While Senator Okpebholo was declared the winner of the election by the Returning Officer. The exercise was held at the residence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, still in Benin City.
Later, the spokesman of the local government returning officers, Ojo Babatunde, declared the member representing Etsako Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Anamero Sunday Dekeri, the winner of the poll.
The recent developments have incited protests within the state, as a group of youths and women stormed the party’s secretariat on Monday. They forcefully expelled members of the State Working Committee, headed by Jarret Tenabe, from the premises.
The situation escalated dramatically when Dekeri made a bold move by storming the party’s national secretariat and demanding a certificate of return from Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the ruling party. Dekeri asserted that he had garnered the highest number of votes in Saturday’s election.
Ganduje had summoned an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) on Tuesday night.
Speaking to reporters following the three-hour meeting, the APC’s national publicity secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, announced, “The NWC has decided that the Edo State governorship primary election remains incomplete. Therefore, Thursday, February 22, 2024, has been set for the conclusion of the APC primary election process.”