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Edo: I Remain APC Governorship Candidate – Idahosa Writes INEC
The crisis that erupted after the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State may not be over as one of the aspirants, Dennis Idahosa, has written to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, not to accept any other name as the candidate of the party apart from him, claiming that he won the primary election.
The crisis started when the first primary was conducted on February 17, as it produced three winners.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the primary, Governor Hope Uzodimma, announced Idahosa as the winner, while the returning officer, Stanley Ugboaja, declared Monday Okpebholo as the winner.
Also, Ojo Babatunde, who claimed to be representing the returning officers in all the local governments, declared Anamero Dekeri as the winner of the election.
With the confusion, the National Working Committee of the party ordered a rerun on February 22, under the chairmanship of Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State, who replaced Uzodimma as the head of the electoral committee.
After the exercise, Okpebholo was declared the winner with 12,433 votes to defeat Idahosa, who polled 6,541.
In a letter dated March 4, 2024, written by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), marked WOC/ABJ/VOL.01/074/2024 and addressed to the Chairman of INEC, Yakubu, Idahosa said a legal action with Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/274/2024 between himself vs Sen. Monday Okpebholo, the APC and the INEC has been instituted where he is claiming the candidacy of the party and urged INEC to take cognisance of the suit.
In the suit, Idahosa said that he won the February 17, 2024 exercise monitored by the INEC where he was declared the winner and that there was no basis for the supplementary election ordered by the leadership of the party as no reason was given for the decision.
He also argued that February 22 was not a standalone election but a continuation of the February 17 exercise and so the results of the 17th exercise cannot be jettisoned.
He said, “The record of INEC/the commission will show that, under your leadership, the commission monitored the Edo State APC primary election for the nomination of the governorship candidate of the APC under the prior notification that the primary election will specifically hold on 17th February 2024.
“The primary election was indeed held, and our client garnered 40,453 votes (a copy of the result certified by INEC is attached herein as Annexure 1). INEC’s report of monitoring the election confirms that, at the end of the process, our client was returned as the duly elected candidate of the APC (a copy of the INEC report as certified by the commission is attached as Annexure 2).
“The APC primary election committee that conducted the election also confirmed that our client won the election as evidenced by a report signed by all members of the committee (without a single instance of dissent).
“Our client is aware that the APC subsequently confirmed to INEC that the primary election was held as scheduled on 17th February 2024; however, without giving any reason, indicated that the election was inconclusive and will be completed on 22nd February 2024 and invited INEC to monitor the completion exercise.
“At the end and in respect of the completion exercise, Sen. Monday Okpebholo was said to have scored 12, 433 votes whilst our client was allocated 6,541 votes. Sen. Monday Okpebholo scored 100 votes at the primary election of 17th February 2024 (a copy of the result sheet from the completed primary election on 22nd February 2024 certified by INEC is attached as Annexure 3).
“Our client disagrees that the primary election of 17th February 2024 was inconclusive or that there was any basis to schedule what was described as a completion of the process. Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/ 274/2024 has been instituted to ventilate that challenge.
“As things stand, INEC is in custody of two results for the APC primary election for the 2024 Governorship election in Edo State (one dated 17th February 2024, and the other dated 23rd February 2024). The summation of the votes in both results demonstrates clearly that our client won the primary election even if his votes from the 17th February 2024 results are the only ones reckoned with.
“Put differently, an addition of the votes of all the other aspirants from both results will neither match nor supersede our client’s votes from 17th February 2024. At best (assuming it is valid), the completion primary election of 22nd February 2024 was a supplementary election.
“Fortunately, the commission under your leadership has had cause to conduct supplementary elections including the 2018 governorship election in Osun State where a winner was declared by INEC upon a summation of the votes from the main and supplementary election.”
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Anambra State Sector Command, has confirmed the death of a woman in an accident at Okpoko Market on the Asaba-Onitsha Road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident to journalists in Awka on Thursday, said that the woman was hit while she was crossing the road.
He said that the accident, which occurred on Wednesday, involved a commercial tow truck with registration number XA550BMA.
“Eyewitness report reaching us indicates that the truck was towing a vehicle in an uncontrollable speed along the axis.
“The vehicle that was being towed got detached from the tow truck.
“It hit and killed a female adult, who was said to be crossing the road, while the tow truck continued its movement.
“FRSC rescue team came to the scene and took the woman to Toronto Hospital, Onitsha, where she was confirmed dead and her body deposited at the hospital’s mortuary,” he said.
While sympathising with the family of the dead, the sector commander urged motorists, especially tow truck drivers, to exercise a high level of professionalism.
He also urged the drivers to always use standard equipment and avoid speeding.
The Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Mojeed Iyiola, said the state government’s maize palliative to members of the association made a positive impact on the sector.
Iyiola said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
“We received about 150,000 tons of maize in February from the Lagos State government as palliative to cushion the effect of high feed prices.
“The major benefit of the palliative is that it actually cushioned the cost of production for most poultry farmers in the state.
“The palliative was beneficial as it made the cost of some poultry produce, especially eggs to drop,” Iyiola said.
He noted that prior to the palliative, a crate of egg was sold between N3,500 and N3,700 at the farm gate, but after the palliative, it now sells between N3,200 and N3,400.
According to the PAN chair, retailers and middlemen who sell from N3,800 to N4,200 do that for their personal gain.
“We have urged our members to sell their eggs at reasonable prices following the receipt of the palliative from the government.
“We appreciate the Lagos State government for the palliative but we also urge the federal government to do likewise, to further reduce the cost of production in the sector.
“This will consequently lead to drop in the prices of all poultry produce across board,” he said.
He said the palliative was shared among financial members of the association at no extra cost.
“As an association we shared the grains equally across PAN’s eight zones in the state equally. We also mandated each zone not the sell even a grain of the maize.
“We, however, considered new poultry farmers who wanted to the join the association as beneficiaries of the palliative,” said Iyiola.
He noted that through the palliative, more poultry farmers were recruited into the association.
“The maize was shared only to poultry farmers and not feed millers, it is the major component of poultry feed formulation,” he said.
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