Idahosa Supporters Throng Edo APC Secretariat As Confusion Trails Guber Primary

Supporters of Dennis Idahosa, the newly declared gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the upcoming Edo State governorship election, thronged the party’s secretariat in Benin on Friday.

The supporters, composed of youths and women, demanded the removal of the state executives led by acting chairman Jarret Tenebe following the controversial APC governorship primary election held on Saturday, February 17.

Recall that the chairman of the APC primary election committee and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, had announced Idahosa’s victory with 40,483 votes, defeating nine other contestants.

However, conflicting reports emerged as the returning officer of the electoral committee, Stanley Ugboaja, declared Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the party’s ticket.

Another claim was made by Ojo Babatunde, who said he was representing the returning officers in all the local governments and declared Anamero Dekeri as the winner.

The crowd led by the party’s youth leader, Tony Adun, known as Kabaka, forcefully entered the APC offices, retrieving furniture, bags of rice, and other items.

They expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged misconduct of officials during the primary election, vowing to occupy the building for seven days.

Adun emphasized their solidarity with Idahosa, calling on party members to support his candidacy in the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21.

The protesters accused the state executives of working against the party’s interest and insisted on the dissolution of the current leadership.

Adun said, “It is clear that the party exco in the state are no longer working on the interest of the party so it is time for them to leave.

“We are here in solidarity with Dennis Idahosa who the party has nominated. We call on party members to back Idahosa’s candidacy in the governorship election in September.

“As you can see, we are here in large numbers, youths and women, to show our displeasure over the way the exco handled the election.”

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, has congratulated Idahosa for his supposed victory.

Ganduje urged the newly nominated candidate to foster unity among aspirants and stressed the need for collaboration to secure a victory in the main election.

He also commended the Uzodimma-led election committee for alleged transparency, and called on all aspirants to set aside their differences and work towards the party’s success.

He was quoted as saying, “I want to congratulate the winner of the Edo State governorship election, I want to equally commend and appreciate Governor Hope Uzodinma’s election committee for their hard work and the transparent manner in the way the primary election was conducted.

“At this point, I want to call on all the aspirants to bury the hatchet and work for the interest of the party so that our party will emerge victorious at the main election.”