In a twist to the ongoing political saga in Edo State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) has declared last Saturday’s governorship primary election inconclusive.
This announcement was made by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, following an urgent meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja with the NWC members.
The contentious poll, which took place on February 17, resulted in an unprecedented outcome with three different candidates being declared winners.
Governor Hope Uzodimma, who chaired the Electoral Committee of the primary, named Dennis Idahosa as the victor. Concurrently, returning officer Stanley Ugboaja announced Monday Okpebholo as the winner. Adding to the confusion, Ojo Babatunde, purporting to represent the returning officers across all local governments, declared Anamero Dekeri as the election’s winner.
This chaotic situation led both Dekeri and Okpebholo to petition the party’s appeal committee, requesting their respective certificates of return. In response to the ensuing disarray, Felix Morka addressed the media in Abuja, revealing that the election process remains unfinished and is scheduled to continue on Thursday.
Morka stated, “At its emergency meeting held today, Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to review the report on the Edo governorship primary election, the National Working Committee of our party deliberated and determined that the governorship primary election has not been finalized. The completion of the APC Edo State primary election process is now set for Thursday, February 22.”
Interestingly, amidst this uncertainty, the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, had previously extended his congratulations to Idahosa for emerging as the party’s candidate.
The reasons behind the NWC’s decision, led by Ganduje, to declare the election inconclusive remain unclear at this time. This development adds another layer of intrigue to Edo State’s political landscape as stakeholders eagerly await the resolution of this unprecedented primary election debacle.