Edo APC primary: Idahosa stage protest to party headquarters, threatens court action

Dennis Idahosa, one of the Edo state All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, declared as winner of the 17th February 2024 party primary by the Governor Hope Uzodimma led committee, on Saturday stormed the APC National headquarters to demand the cancellation of the re-run election that saw the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo as winner.

Idahosa also threatened to sue the party if they refuse to address the alleged injustice done to him and restore his candidature as the winner of the primary election.

Recall that the APC declared February 17th, 2024 Edo primary election inconclusive and fixed February 22, 2024 for a re-run. The re-run, led by the Governor of Cross River state, Bassey Otu committee produced Senator Okpebholo as governorship candidate.

However, unsatisfied with the outcome, Mr. Idahosa staged a protest, calling for the annulment of the election. According to him, no election took place but selection.

He also urged President Bola Tinubu to call the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to order and restore his candidature as the governorship candidate of the party.

“On the 17th February, primary elections were held in Edo where I clearly won and the chairman of the committee, his excellency, Hope Uzodimma, announced me as the winner and there were a lot of congratulatory messages flying across the country. Even the NWC chairman, Ganduje also sent me a congratulatory message. Hope Uzodinma, the Chairman, also used his media outlet to send me a congratulatory message as well.

“Few days after, I heard that there is going to be another primary. There was a circular from the Publicity Secretary that the previous one we did was inconclusive, that there will be another completion election. So I was wondering, if the party primary election like the first one wasn’t concluded, then there should be specific wards and local governments that are going to conduct the elections. But to my greatest surprise, when we held a stakeholders meeting, they said clearly that it’s going to be a fresh election. And that is contrary to the law.

“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 the 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 Mr. President to call the NWC to order. Elections were held on the 17th. What they did on the 22nd was just selection. I challenged one of the LGA returning officers to show me a picture of him in the Local government headquarters where he said he collated the results and he was just blabbing. There is nothing because I know that they were in the same hotel at one view point in Benin, that’s where they wrote all the results.

“I have written yesterday to the appeal panel committee and I know they will do justice. 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”, he said.