The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced that its governorship primary election in Edo State ended inconclusively.
In a statement released on Tuesday night to address the party’s stance regarding the disputed primary held last Saturday, Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, revealed that the ruling party has declared the primary inconclusive.
The statement further announced that a new primary is scheduled for Thursday to determine the party’s candidate for the September 2024 governorship election in the state.
The party held an emergency National Working Committee meeting on Tuesday night to address the ongoing crisis resulting from the primary conducted by the committee led by Senator Hope Uzodimma.
Morka said, “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.”
The APC governorship primary in Edo last Saturday was marked by drama, as two additional candidates contested the party’s ticket following the declaration of Dennis Idahosa as the winner by the Chairman of the primary election committee, Uzodimma.
Subsequently, the returning officer for the primary, Stanley Ugboaja, proclaimed Monday Okpebholo as the rightful candidate, while Anamero Dekeri also asserted his claim to the ticket.
Prior to the primary, three out of the 12 cleared aspirants withdrew from the race, namely Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Lucky Imasuen, and Ernest Umakhihe. Dissatisfied aspirants subsequently staged a protest at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja regarding the conduct of the primary.