There is confusion in Edo State after a parallel primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, 17th February, produced Senator Monday Okpepholo as the party’s governorship candidate.
The returning officer of the APC electoral committee for the Edo governorship election, Stanley Ugboajah, declared Okpepholo as the winner of the primary election.
Speaking at a press conference held at the residence of one of the aspirants, who had earlier announced his withdrawal from the contest, Ugboajah said Senator Okpepholo polled 12,145 votes to defeat the other aspirants.
His words, “I hereby certify that Monday Okpepholo, having scored the highest votes, is declared winner and duly returned as APC candidate for the election.”
The declaration comes a few hours after the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, who is also the chairman of the APC primary election committee, declared a member of the House Representatives, Dennis Idahosa, as the APC governorship candidate in Edo State.
Uzodimma made the declaration on Saturday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
While giving his version of the result, the Imo State Governor said the election was peaceful across the 18 local governments and 192 wards and that Idahosa polled 40,453 votes to emerge winner.
He said that having polled the highest number of votes among the nine aspirants, Idahosa became the candidate of the APC in the September 21 governorship election in the state.
Uzodinma said there was a mix-up on where the secretariat of the committee was, noting that the Protea Hotel and not the Lushville Hotel, where results were announced earlier today, was the authentic secretariat.
Meanwhile, the APC at the national level has declared that only Uzodinma can declare the real winner of the party’s governorship primary election in Edo State.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, urged members of the public to disregard results emerging from anywhere else.