Senator Monday Okpebholo has been declared the winner of a parallel Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election.
The APC State Returning Officer Ogbuaja Stanley Uzoamaka declared Senator Okpebholo as the winner of the exercise held in Benin City, the Edo State capital, on Saturday.
His declaration came just after Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State who heads the APC election committee for Edo State announced Dennis Idahosa as the winner of the poll.
But the group has dismissed Uzodimma’s declaration, maintaining that the Imo governor’s post is only ceremonial.
The election conducted by the Uzodimma group was marred by disruption from suspected thugs who stormed the results collation venue in the GRA area of Edo State.
They threw away chairs and cameras mounted by journalists, a development that saw APC officials and pressmen scampering for safety.
The drama forced the election officials to change the venue of the collation exercise.
However, Governor Uzodimma explained that there was a mixup about the collation venue, maintaining that his declaration of Idahosa as the winner of the election was done in the right venue.
The APC has cleared 12 candidates for the election but the party’s flagbearer in the 2020 governorship election Osagie Ize-Iyamu pulled out of this year’s primary election on the eve of the exercise.
