There is excitement in the air within the fold of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress [APC] as Senator Monday Okpebholo has emerged the presumptive winner of the rerun governorship primary poll.
THE CONCLAVE reports that Okpebholo, aka Akpakomiza, who represents Edo Central in the Senate, has unofficially won the poll.
The Electoral Committee and stakeholders in the process, who are presently holed up in Lushville Hotel and Suites, Benin City, are expecting a formal announcement of the result soonest.
A source at the venue said a return would be made to lay to rest the rash of anxiety on the sensitive issue.
Okpebholo is a candidate of the APC gladiators in Edo Central and Edo South. He does not enjoy the support of former governor of the state, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who is backing an aspirant from Edo South, Hon Dennis Idahosa.
Through the Machiavellian tactic of Senator Hope Uzodinma, Idahosa had last Saturday been declared winner of the election. The announcement was made at Protea Hotel, Benin.
Meanwhile, the State Chief Returning Officer, Dr Stanley Ugboajah had declared Okpebholo as the winner.
Whereas, the collation of results of the primary election had commenced at Lushville Hotel and Suites, the venue communicated to INEC by the party, because of disruption of the process by thugs, the collation was relocated to the residence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu where Okpebholo was announced as winner.
Both “winners” were announced outside of the venue recognised by INEC.
The potentiality of the candidate of the APC being vitiated on the basis of that procedural breach was one of the reasons the party ordered a rerun of the primary election on Thursday.
Amid claims that elections did not hold in many places, the State Electoral Committee under the new chair of Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State is working on received results from Local Governnent Returning Offucers to enable the Committee make a return before midnight today.
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