The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has deepened following the House of Representatives and state House of Assembly primaries on Sunday where majority of aspirants withdrew at the last minute.
Their withdrawal is against the backdrop of the party’s insistence on conducting the primaries with what the aspirants described as strange three-man delegates list.
All the PDP governorship aspirants in the state, except Prof. Uche Ikonne, who is believed to be governor’s anointed candidate, had insisted that there was no three-man delegates election held in the state. The aspirants last week took their matter to the national leadership of the party in Abuja.
Led by Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, the aspirants had appealed to the party’s NWC to do away with any list submitted by Abia SWC as three-man delegates list. They also demanded the shifting of the Abia primaries until a proper delegate election was conducted in Abia.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week, had written that the three-man delegates election was yet to be conducted in Abia State and this gave some of the aspirants the hope that the primaries might be shifted as was the case in Imo and Anambra states.
Some of the aspirants said they were surprised when on Sunday morning, a “strange” three-man delegates list was released for the purposes of the primaries billed for the same day.
Though the aspirants who withdrew from the primaries have not made any official statement, it is believed that some of them might either go to court or defect to other parties to advance their aspirations.
Former member of the House of Representatives, Ned Nwoko, yesterday, emerged candidate for the Delta North senatorial district election in 2023.
He polled 242 delegates votes while Osaji scored 67 votes.
Elsewhere in Sapale where the primary for Delta Central was conducted, former governor James Ibori’s staunch political ally, Ighoyota Amori scored 143 votes to defeat John Nani with 123 votes for the ticket for Delta central senatorial district.
Former chairman of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Michael Diden secured a landslide victory with 176 votes to win Delta South ticket.
•Aliyu, Siyako win Gombe Central, Gombe South
Abubakar Aliyu has been declared winner to represent Gombe Central senatorial seat of Gombe State.
He scored 59 votes to defeat Muhammadu Baba who polled three votes and Senator Danjuma Goje who scored no vote.
In Gombe South senatorial primary, Anthony Siyako scored 59 votes to defeat Binta Bello who polled 57 votes.
Member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State in the House of Representatives, Dachung Bagos polled of 34 votes to win the ticket for Jos South/Jos East constituency. He defeated Ayuba Abok, former Speaker, Plateau State House of Assembly who scored 25 votes, while Ezekiel Badung scored three votes, Ibrahim Ashom scored two votes, Dr. Chomo Datiyi and Mr. Pam Jang got no vote.
Member representing Langtang North and Langtang South Federal Constituency, Beni Lar was returned as she polled 70 votes to defeat Mr. Gidoen Nanden who scored one vote.
Member representing Jos North Bassa Federal Constituency, Musa Avia polled 39 votes to defeat Aminu Zang who scored 37 votes.
Peter Gyendeng, former Majority Leader Plateau State House of Assembly picked the ticket for Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency.
For state constituencies, Philip Jwey won Barkin-Ladi; Ishaku Maren, Bokkos; Nannim Joseph, Langtang North; Timothy Dantong, Riyom; Yusuf Atsen, Jos East; Fom Gwottson, Jos South and Hon Ibrahim Agbalak, Rukuba/Irigwe constituency. Others are Azi Danjuma, Jos North West; Mathew Akawu, Pengana, Sani Golden, Mangu North East, Felix Gonung, Pankshin North.
Former Enugu State Chairman of PDP, Chief Vita Abba ended Patrick Asadu’s fifth term ambition to return to House of Representative to represent Nsukka/Igboeze-South.
He got with 91 votes while his closest contestant, Clinton Ishiwu scored 11 votes, Asadu two votes, while Mr Chidi Obetta, Aniegbulam Ezeugwu and Chukuemeka Asogwa polled one vote each.
Dumnamene Dekor won the ticket to represent Khana/Gokana in the House of Representatives of Rivers State Chairman of the House Committee on Host Communities in the House of Representatives, clinched the ticket, following the overwhelming votes he garnered from the delegates in the primary that was supervised by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a related development, Mr. Joshua Gana, eldest son of former minister of information, Prof. Jerry Gana, emerged the House of Representatives candidate for Lavun, Edati and Mokwa Federal Constituency in Niger. He polled 46 votes against 25 votes by his closest rival, Abubakar Suleiman.
•Journalists arrested as PDP holds parallel Senate primaries in Edo
Two factions of the Edo State PDP, yesterday, held parallel primaries at different locations to elect candidates for the three senatorial slots of South, Central and North districts of the state.
Three journalists were arrested by combined security team for allegedly providing media coverage for one of the factions.
The emergence of the two factions is as a result of the battle for the control of the soul of the PDP between Governor Godwin Obaseki and South-South Deputy National Vice chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih.
While delegates of the Orbih’s faction held their primary at an event centre by the Airport gate, Obaseki’s delegates held theirs at Ogbemudia’s Stadium, Benin City.
The journalists arrested by state security outfit and the police are Deborah Coker, correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN); Sunny Inarumen, African Independent Television (AIT) camera-man and reporter and Ogbomo Osamuyi, Independent Television and Radio correspondent. They had covered the primary conducted by the Orbih faction where they were arrested and detained for over four hours at the Oko Police Division with statements extracted from them.
Coker, NAN Correspondent, who spoke after her release, said they were arrested by a combined team of Edo Security Network and police.
•Onolememen, Edeoghon clinch Edo senatorial, Assembly tickets
Results of the Edo South primary from the Obaseki’s faction saw former Majority leader of Edo State House of Assembly, Mathew Iduoriyekemwen defeating incumbent Senator Mathew Uroghide while Ogbeide-Ihama won at the Dan Orbih faction.
Former Minister of Works in ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Mike Onolememen picked the ticket for Edo Central senatorial district in the Orbih’s faction while Clifford Ordia, two-term incumbent senator emerged in the Obaseki’s faction.
In Edo North, Pascal Ugbome, emerged in the Orbih’s faction while Mrs Victoria Edelokun won the ticket of the Obaseki’s faction.
It was also victory song for Mr. Zuberious Edeoghon who secured 16 votes to dust his main rival who polled five votes to secure the House of Assembly ticket for Esan West on Sunday.
•Ortom, Tegbe, Ilaka, Wolekanle win in Borno, Oyo
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom won the Benue North West Senatorial seat.
He emerged after delegates from the seven local government areas that make up the district popularly known as Zone B endorsed his candidature.
In Oyo State, management consultant and APC governorship aspirant for the 2019 gubernatorial poll, Mogaji Joseph Tegbe, who officially defected to PDP some weeks ago, was elected as candidate for Oyo South. Though Tegbe contested unopposed through a consensus arrangement, 296 votes were still cast for him at Tafo Event Centre, Ijokodo, to affirm his emergence.
For Oyo Central and Oyo North senatorial districts, Bisi Ilaka, former Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, and a business mogul, Akinwale Akinwole, popularly known as Wolekanle, also emerged as candidates respectively. Ilaka, who will contest the poll for the third time, polled 322 votes while Wolekanle scored 414 out of a total of 415 votes cast by delegates..
Though the three senatorial candidates are believed to be the favourites of Governor Makinde, it was gathered that a number of the aspirants believed to be the favourites of Makinde did not win the primary in some federal constituencies.
Credit: Daily Sun