* Idahosa’s ‘victory’ unsure as NWC fixes Thursday to complete process
By Chesa Chesa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the Edo governorship primary election, which reportedly produced Dennis Idahosa as the party’s candidate at the weekend, remains inconclusive until Thursday.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, announced this to journalists shortly Tuesday night after an emergency meeting of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) chaired by the national chairman, Umar Ganduje, at the party headquarters in Abuja.
According to Morka: “At its emergency meeting held today, Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to consider the report on the Edo State Governorship Primary Election, the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on the report and resolved that the Edo State Governorship Primary Election has not been completed, and has now fixed Thursday February 22, 2024 for the completion of the Primary Election Process”.
Shortly before he summoned the emergency NWC meeting, Ganduje had been at the Aso Rock Villa where he met with President Bola Tinubu over the impasse the Edo guber primary had become so far.
This development comes as three of the 12 aspirants stoutly rejected the results of the primary poll as conducted by chairman of the Electoral Committee for the primary election and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, with Idahosa declared as winner.
One of the aggrieved aspirants, Senator Monday Okpebholo, had written a protest letter to the Appeal Committee instituted for the primary, stating that only 24,000 accredited delegates voted in the poll.
This is contrary to the result handed in by Uzodimma that Dennis Idahosa won the contest by as many as 40,000 votes, he said.
Another aspirant and member of the House of Representatives, Anamero Dekeri, is also asking the party hierarchy to recognise him as the winner of the primary poll.
