The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared the primary election held in Edo State on Saturday inconclusive due to conflicting results that produced three different candidates claiming victory.
The first announcement declared Dennis Idahosa, a member of the House of Representatives, as the winner by the APC Primary Election Committee, chaired by Governor Hope Uzodimma, at the Protea Hotel in Benin.
Simultaneously, Monday Okpebholo was declared the winner by the returning officer at the residence of Osagie Ize-Iyamu in Benin City.
Subsequently, Anamero Sunday Dekeri, the representative of Etsako Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was declared the winner by the spokesman of the local government returning officers, Ojo Babatunde.
The conflicting outcomes triggered protests in the state, with youths and women storming the party’s secretariat on Monday, leading to the dispersal of the State Working Committee led by Jarret Tenabe.
The situation escalated when Dekeri, claiming the highest number of votes, sought a certificate of return at the party’s national secretariat from Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the APC.
In response to the chaotic situation, Ganduje convened an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) on Tuesday night. Following the three-hour-long meeting, Felix Morka, APC national publicity secretary, announced that the NWC had resolved that the Edo State governorship primary election was incomplete. As a result, the committee scheduled Thursday, February 22, 2024, for the completion of the APC primary election process.
“The NWC resolves that the Edo State governorship primary election has not been completed and has now fixed Thursday, February 22, 2024 for the completion of the APC primary election process,” he said.
Morka refrained from answering further questions during the press conference.
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