The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State witnessed a chaotic situation on Saturday, February, 17, 2024, as two parallel governorship primaries produced two winners.
At the Protea Hotel in Benin, Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma declared House of Representatives member, Dennis Idahosa as winner of one of the primaries. Idahosa, representing Ovia Federal constituency, purportedly secured 40,453 votes, defeating Senator Monday Okpebholo, who only managed to garner 100 votes.
This declaration was backed by the leader of the elected delegates, Mr. Charity Amayaenvbo, and seconded by Charles Oronsanye.
However, another faction of the party held their primary at Lushville Hotel and Suite GRA Benin. At this venue, Okpebholo, representing Edo Central, was declared the winner by Dr. Stanley Ugboajah, the State Collation officer. Ugboajah announced Okpebholo as the victor with 12,145 votes, while Idahosa trailed with 5,536 votes.
The situation escalated when armed thugs invaded Lushville Hotel and Suites around 2:52 pm, disrupting the collation process. They caused damage to property and inflicted injuries on journalists present, leaving security personnel powerless to intervene.
The chaos ensued during a break in the collation process, with the live transmission by some national television stations abruptly halted. Despite the turmoil, Okpekholo was reportedly leading Idahosa in eight out of the 18 local government areas that had been collated at that time.
Officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were present at both collation centers, witnessing the conflicting declarations and the ensuing disorder.
