The elected governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo on Saturday at party’s national Secretariat, Abuja received certificate of return.
This was just as one of the governorship aspirants in the said primary election in Edo state, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, led a protest to the APC national secretariat, demanding justice.
While presenting the certificate to the candidate, APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the party is on the way to win the election having produced a sellable candidate.
Ganduje said: “Three aspirants were declared as “candidates” That process was not concluded and I asked the Committee to go back. Coincidentally, the chairman of the Committee had a presentation to make at the National Economic Council and that’s why he could not go back to conclude the exercise.
That was why his deputy, Governor of Cross Rivers State became the new chairman.
“I am happy to tell you that as we directed, as we monitored, the Direct Primaries took place in 192 wards. We have the record, the results were collated in each local govt and the results are with us. The results were announced after collation. As a result, Senator Okpebholo scored the highest votes and therefore declared the winner.
“Some of the aspirants came forward to congratulate him. Those who couldn’t, from the report ,we heard, they also called his line.
What is important to us is to win Edo state. We knew what happened in the past, but now we are in the way to win that election, because we believe that we have a product that is sellable, refined, well packaged, a product that we can deliver.”
In his acceptance speech, Senator Okpebholo said his ambition to become the next Edo State governor was not based on tribal and ethnic inclinations or religious calculations but to build develop the state for the people.
“I shall leverage on the collective strength of all of us and the passion for a greater Edo. I am humbly requesting all my brothers and sisters who contested the primaries with me, to put the contest behind and join me in the challenging task of making Edo State heart beat again with development across the broad spectrum of human endeavour.“This journey of meaningful development has no respect for tribal and ethnic inclinations nor religious calculations. It is about building Edo by Edo people.
“I will immediately embark on visitation to our political leaders and my co- contestants for unity of purpose. WE ARE ALL IN IT TOGETHER and by God’s grace our great Party APC will return to Osadebe Avenue come November this year.”Earlier, Hon Idahosa, who was initially declared winner of the primary election by the Imo State governor Hope Uzodimma, also threatened to drag the party to court if justice is not done to him.
Addressing journalists at the APC national secretariat gate, Idahosa said he has submitted protest letter to the APC governorship Appeal Committee, adding that he will take his time to go through the process after which he will proceed to Court to fight for his right against the party.He said: “I am not here to make trouble, I am a lawmaker but one thing that we want is justice. Today, I might be a young man but it might be the children of NWC members tomorrow. We have to do the right thing, if we continue to do what is wrong as a country, we are not going to move forward.
“So I am calling on Mr. President to call NWC to order. Elections were held on the 17th of February what they did on the 22nd was just selection. I challenged one of the LGA returning officers to give me, show me a picture of him in the Local government headquarters where he said he collated the results and he was just blabbing, there was nothing because I know that they were in the same hotel in Benin, that’s where they wrote all the results.
“So my fellow party members, I am not here to make trouble, I am only here to seek justice, whatever they have done, if it is not properly managed, I have written yesterday to the appeal panel commitee and I know they will do justice, even if whatever they did, I just want to go through the process, having exhausted the party’s resolve mechanism, I will go further, I will seek justice in the court of law and I will not allow this to stand.”
