Edo APC Governorship Primary Election Crisis Persists as Aspirant Challenges Outcom

The aftermath of the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State continues to unfold, with Dennis Idahosa, one of the aspirants, refusing to accept the outcome and challenging the legitimacy of the process.

Idahosa, who claims victory in the primary election held on February 17, has written to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, asserting his candidacy and urging INEC not to recognize any other candidate besides himself. In his letter, sent through his lawyer Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Idahosa emphasized that he was declared the winner of the initial primary election monitored by INEC.

The primary election initially held on February 17 yielded three winners, including Idahosa. However, a rerun primary conducted on February 22 resulted in Monday Okpebholo being declared the winner with 12,433 votes, surpassing Idahosa’s 6,541 votes. Despite rejecting the outcome of the rerun, Idahosa maintains that he emerged victorious in the original election and questions the necessity of the supplementary poll.

Idahosa’s legal team has instituted a lawsuit (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/274/2024) challenging the legitimacy of the rerun election and seeking recognition of Idahosa as the rightful APC governorship candidate for Edo State. Olanipekun argued that the rerun election was not a standalone event but rather a continuation of the initial exercise, rendering the supplementary results invalid.

The letter to INEC highlighted that the commission possesses two sets of results for the APC primary election in Edo State, dated February 17 and February 23 respectively. Olanipekun asserted that even when considering votes from both sets of results, Idahosa emerges as the rightful winner, emphasizing the precedence of supplementary elections conducted by INEC.