Edo guber: Oshiomhole’s ‘preferred candidate’ loses as Sen. Okpepholo clinches APC ticket

Monday Okpepholo, lawmaker representing Edo Central Senatorial District, has emerged winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

The National Working Committee of the ruling party had scheduled a fresh primary following the controversy which broke out in the previous exercise which produced three candidates.

In one of the primaries, the election committee chairman and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, declared Hon. Denis Idahosa, representing Ovia Federal Constituency as winner with 40, 453 votes.

Idahosa is believed to be the preferred candidate of Senator Adams Oshiomhole, leader of the APC in Edo.

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In another parallel congress, the returning officer for the election, Dr. Stanley Ugboaje, declared Okpepholo winner, saying he scored scored 12,145 votes.

Also, Local Government Returning Officer in the third parallel primary, Mr Ojo Babatunde, declared Hon. Dekeri Anamero, representing Etsako Federal Constituency as winner, saying he polled 25,384 votes.

But announcing the result of the fresh primary on Friday, Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, who was Chairman of the election committee, said Okpepholo polled 12,433 votes to defeat his closest rival, Idahosa, who scored 6,541 votes.

“Having scored the total number of highest votes cast, I hereby declare Monday Okpepholo as the winner and APC candidate for the election,” he said.

Okpepholo will face Asue Ighodahlo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election.