Okpebholo scored 12, 433 votes to emerge winner ahead of other aspirants.

Senator Monday Okpebholo has been declared winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the September 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

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Okpebholo scored 12, 433 votes to defeat other eleven aspirants.

Declaring the results on Friday, the Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, who is the Chairman of the Revised APC Edo Gubernatorial Election Committee, said total number of 41,784 were cast in the primary.

He further stated that there were 31,863 accredited voters, total votes cast 31,863, valid votes 31,863 and zero invalid votes in the race that featured 12 contestants.

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According to the result called out by Governor Otu, Dr Blessing A. scored 731 votes; Gerald Charles 1,181 votes; Senator O.O Osunbor 634 votes; Col. David Imose 423 votes; Senator Monday Okpebholo 12,433 votes.

Others are Hon. Dennis Idahosa with 6,541 votes, Everest Afolabi 2,117 votes, Gideon O. Ikhanire 720 votes, Pastor Ize-Iyamu 378 votes, Amero Sunday 2,562 votes, Agba Clement 2,732 votes, and Lucky Imasuen 493 votes.

This primary follows the cancellation of an earlier primary which produced different candidates by the National Working Committee of the party.

The NWC of the party had in a statement released last Tuesday disclosed that following deliberations on the report of the Edo primary election held on Saturday, it had resolved that the primary had not been completed and therefore fixed today, Thursday, 22nd February for its completion.

Kassim Afegbua, former commissioner for information in Edo state, says the governorship primary that produced Senator Monday Okpebholo “never took place”.

Afegbua who spoke in a chat with TheCable on Friday described Okpebholo’s election as a “gang-up by the national leadership” of the party.

During the rescheduled primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday, Okpebholo who scored 12, 433 votes was declared the winner ahead of 11 other aspirants.

The national leadership of the party canceled the initial primary which produced three different winners.

Afegbua, a governorship aspirant, insisted that Okpebholo and his allies were nowhere to be found on the day of the primary which produced him as winner.

“That is how they wanted it and we say good luck to them. The national headquarters of the party should go and deliver the candidate they have ganged up to produce. We will just sit down here and watch,” he said.

“Since they say Oshiomhole is their problem, they should leave him out of this and go and deliver the man (Okpebholo) during the election.

“We all knew that there was no primary conducted on Thursday by Okpebholo and others. We never saw the representative of Okpebholo and the others on the field.”

Afegbua, who is a loyalist of Adams Oshiomhole, a former national chairman of the APC, hinted that he may not support Okpebholo in the electioneering campaign.

“I am sure they were working from answer to question. If it is the headquarters that will go and endorse a candidate and will be working towards delivering that candidate, then we wish them good luck,” he said.

“They don’t consider us as anything. To them, we don’t matter. Those who matter are in the headquarters of the party. They should go and deliver the candidate since they know Edo state more than us. We will be here watching.”