The Nation Newspaper

Tag: All Progressives Congress (APC)

  • INEC resumes collation of Bauchi guber election results

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has decided to resume from Tuesday, the collation of the governorship election result in Bauchi State and may declare the winner of the poll, hitherto ruled as inconclusive.

    The commission announced the decision in a press statement on Friday night after resolving some issues around the result of Tafawa Balewa local government and some polling units in Ningi local government.

    INEC did not state whether by the decision, the scheduled supplementary election on 23 March has been cancelled.

    According to INEC, the number of cancelled votes in four polling units in Ningi Local Government was 2,533 and not 25,330 as recorded.

    On Tafawa Balewa Local Government election result, where collation was disrupted by armed gangs, affecting 7 out of 11 registration areas for governorship and 6 out of 11 for state assembly elections, INEC said a committee set up, has found that the results in polling units and registration areas are “available and in safe custody”.

    INEC thus decided to resume the resumption and conclusion of the collation of results of the council area for both the governorship and state assembly elections

    A new collation and returning officer for Tafawa Balewa has been appointed “to continue and conclude the collation process in place of the original collation officer, who withdrew from the exercise citing threats to her life and those of her family members”. The threatened collation officer was Dominion Anosike.

    The governorship election in Bauchi state is a straight fight between incumbent Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress and former minister, Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Bala was said to have won the Tafawa Balewa Local government election, putting him in an overall lead of his APC counterpart, but the INEC returning officer, Professor Mohammed Kyari, declared the election inconclusive.

    In declaring the election inconclusive, Kyari, gave the scores of incumbent governor as 465,453 votes and Bala Mohammed of PDP as 469,512 votes.

    “The margin between the winner and opponent is less than the total number of votes cancelled in some polling units.By law, since the margin of winner is less than the total number of votes cancelled and registered voters in the areas where the votes have been cancelled, this elections is hereby declared inconclusive,” he said.

    He said his decision was in line with section 26 part 53 of the Electoral Act.

    NAN

  • Okorocha is finished politically, says Uzodinma

    Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State Senator Hope Uzodinma has pronounced Governor Rocha Okorocha dead politically.

    He said the governor should apologise to Imo indigenes for his misrule rather than looking for scapegoats for his failure.

    In a statement in Abuja, Uzodinma said Okorocha should hide his face in shame rather than blaming him and the National leadership of the party over his failed plot to install his son in-law as governor of Imo State.

    The lawmaker, who was reacting to the comment by Okorocha that the APC failed to win the Imo governorship election due to the candidacy of Uzodinma, reminded the governor that even as “a sitting governor he failed to win a senatorial election and got a Returning Officer to announce him winner under duress.

    “I thought by now Okorocha should be hiding his face in shame after he lost his bid to install his son in-law and win his senatorial election.

    “Despite all the billions he spent to stop me and the APC in the state from the results from the polling units I won the election and we will prove it.

    Read also: Buhari won’t interfere with emergence of NASS leadership, says Presidency

    “But Okorocha has lost his deposit and he is finished politically. He is an expert in running people down but God has punished him today.

    “This same man worked against the APC and he has the gut to speak about others. I challenge Okorocha for a walk in the streets of Owerri if Imo people will not stone him.

    “Thank God all his conspiracy against us has ended and he has buried himself politically.

    “I expect by now he should be apologising to the people of Imo State for the crime against God and humanity he committed.

    “I will reclaim my mandate which Okorocha and Ihedioha stole last weekend and then i will have something to tell Okorocha,” he said.

  • Tribunal grants Buhari, APC access to poll items

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) in Abuja has granted the request by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, to be allowed access to materials used for the election.

    The permission is  to enable the APC and Buhari inspect and obtain the certified true copies (CTC) of the materials to enable them prepare their defence against the petition to be filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar.

    A three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Abdul Aboki, in granting the two ex-parte motions filed by the APC and Buhari, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the applicants inspect and obtain CTC of the materials.

    The tribunal, in the two rulings on both motions, granted similar orders.

    The APC had, in a schedule it attached to its motion, listed 12 categories of election materials it sought to be allowed to inspect. They include card readers, card readers reports and incident forms, among others.

    In the lead rulings delivered by Justice Aboki, the tribunal granted the two reliefs in Buhari’s motion, but modified the prayers in the motion by the APC.

    It said: “Leave is granted the applicant to bring this application at this stage.

    “The 1st respondent (INEC) shall forthwith, allow the applicant and or its representatives to inspect polling documents and obtain certified true copies of all polling documents, in the custody of the 1st respondent, used for the just concluded presidential election to enable the applicant defend the petition that may be filed by the 2nd and 3rd respondents (Peoples Democratic Party and Atiku Abubakar).

    Adelani Ajibade (for Buhari) and Olusola Dare (for APC) had, while arguing the motions, stated that it was imperative that the tribunal grants their clients’ prayers.

    Ajibade and Dare argued that the grant of the motion will enable their clients examine the materials used for the election and obtain the CTC for the purpose of preparing their defence to the petitions to be filed by PDP and its candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar.

    Among the items named in the list attached to the motion by the APC are all results sheets used for the election, voters’ register, stubs of all unused ballot papers, all card readers, card readers reports and data analysis, voters’ registers and all rejected ballot papers.

    It also sought to inspect all incident forms, all other electoral forms or documents used in the presidential election of February 23, held throughout the country.

    On March 6, the PEPT rejected the request by the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his party for permission to conduct forensic analysis and scanning of materials used for the conduct of the presidential election.

    In turning it down, the tribunal said such request for forensic analysis and scanning by experts, of computers, card reader machines, server, among others deployed for the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was beyond the scope of the provisions of Section 151(1) & (2) of the Electoral Act (as amended), which permits the inspection of election materials.

    In a unanimous ruling on an ex-parte application by Atiku and his party, a three-man panel of the tribunal said Section 151 of the Electoral Act, which allows an intending petitioner to inspect materials used for an election only allows inspection and the obtaining of certified true copies of such materials.

    Justice Aboki, who led the panel, however, said the tribunal granted the prayers which allow the applicants the permission to only inspect the materials and obtain certified true copies (CTC) of the materials.

    The tribunal also granted the applicant’s prayer for leave to be allowed to bring such application at the pre-hearing stage of the tribunal’s sitting.

    According to the tribunal, the request by Atiku and PDP to call experts to engage in forensic analysis and scanning of INEC gadgets, computers, among other materials was outside the scope of the meaning of inspection under Section 151(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act.

    Justice Aboki said: “After a careful examination of the reliefs sought on the motion paper and a perusal of Section 151 of the Electoral Act (as amended), and the decision of this court in cases of Aregbesola v. Oyinlola, Akintayo v. Jolaoye, Senator Hope Uzodinma v. Senator Osita Izunaso,, it is hereby ordered as follows.

    “Leave is granted to the applicants to bring this application at this stage,

    “The first respondent (INEC) shall forthwith, allow the applicants and or their representatives to inspect polling documents and obtained certified true copies of all polling documents in the custody of the first respondent, used for the just-concluded presidential election, to enable the applicants institute and maintain an election petition.

    “Prayers three, four, five and six on the motion paper are hereby refused.

    “Forensic audit, examination and analysis by forensic experts cannot be regarded as an inspection of those documents within the ambit of Section 151 of the Electoral Act (as amended),” Justice Aboki said.

    He agreed with lawyer to the applicants, Chris Uche (SAN) that the Court of Appeal had, in previous decisions, permitted the scanning of election documents used during the election at the stage of hearing in election petition.

    He added that such scanned documents must be certified by INEC as true copies of the documents in its custody or held in the custody of INEC.

    Justice Aboki faulted Uche’s reliance on an earlier decision in the case of Senator Uzodinma and Senator Izunaso, and noted that the Court of Appeal has since set aside the permission granted by a lower tribunal for the scanning and forensic audit and analysis of election materials at pre-hearing stage.

    He said: “In that case, the lower tribunal granted the pervasive orders brought under Section 151 of the Electoral Act.

    “The respondent to the said application, appealed to this court, which found that the excessive orders granted with respect to the inspection of polling documents and sundry other materials, were found to be totally outside the scope of Section 151 of the Electoral Act.

    “This court found that the orders made violated the rights of the respondents to fair hearing under Section 6 of the Constitution (as amended).The orders made by the lower tribunal, in that case were set aside by this court. And orders were made, by this court, within the ambit of Section 151 of the Electoral Act.”

     

  • Tinubu seeks adequate treatment for them

    All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday urged the Lagos State government to ensure adequate treatment for the survivors of the collapsed building.

    Asiwaju Tinubu, who described the incident as tragic, also commiserated with the families .

    The former Lagos governor called on Lagosians to donate blood to the survivors.

    In a condolence message to the families of the victims, the APC leader said the pupils who died did not deserve to die the way they did. He prayed for the repose of the kids’ souls.

    He said the government must fast-track the demolition of any building that failed integrity test.

    A statement signed by Tunde Rahman, his Media Adviser, quoted Tinubu as saying: “The building collapse in Ita-Faji, Lagos Island on Wednesday is a tragic occurrence. I commiserate with the families of those kids who lost their precious lives.

    “They do not deserve to die the way they did. May God comfort their families and grant repose of the souls of those young ones. Government must now ensure adequate medical treatment for the rescued victims.

    “I appeal to Lagosians to voluntarily donate blood not only to victims who urgently require blood but also to improve our blood bank in the state.

    “While we await the inquiry into the circumstances that led to the incident, we must all support government’s intervention efforts.

    “The Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory for buildings must be strengthened and the officers must do their work.

    “Government’s laid down regulations on building construction and maintenance must be faithfully respected and enforced. To mobilise support for these regulations, Community Development Associations need to come to government’s aid.

    “If after the collapsed building had been found to be weak and marked for demolition, everybody had done what was required of them, perhaps this terrible incident would have been averted.

    “On its part, the government must fast-track demolition arrangements once a building is discovered to be weak and deserving of being pulled down to save lives.

    “Above all, we must all take appropriate lessons and learn from this sad incident.”

  • Umahi: I am not leaving PDP

    Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has debunked reports credited to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Sonni Ogbuorji, that he was making plans to defect to the APC.

    Ogbuoji, at a news conference in Enugu State, rejected the outcome of the election and vowed to challenge Umahi’s victory at the tribunal.

    Umahi described Ogbuorji’s statement as the ranting of a frustrated person.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, said the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a total rejection of his opponent.

    The statement reads: “As usual, the pain of defeat has started to manifest and so the centre can no longer hold as regards Ogbuorji’s state of mind. Rather than accept the verdict of the people as expressed in their ballots, Ogbuorji has taken his frustration far beyond the shores of the state.

    “Senator Ogbuorji, rather than defend his lacklustre performance in the governorship election, accused the governor of plans to defect to the APC. His statement smacks of frustration because he was not only trounced by Umahi, but also stripped of the little remaining man in him politically.

    “Ogbuorji alleged that Governor Umahi was a mole in PDP. Such a statement is unfortunate and irresponsible because he lacks all moral justification to know who is a mole and who is not because he represented what a typical mole is in APC.

    “How come Senator Ogbuorji never resigned his membership of the PDP, a party on whose platform he was elected a senator twice? How come Senator Ogbuorji, who claimed to be the governorship candidate of APC, compromised the presidential election to the extent of losing his own polling unit and ward to the PDP?

    “If Ogbuorji was not a mole in APC, how come he won clearly his own governorship election in his polling unit and ward but lost in the presidential election?

    “Unknown to him, the APC National Working Committee knows the character of Ogbuorji. So they allowed him wallow and ate his own flesh in the governorship election,” he added.

     

     

  • I have been vindicated by APC’s loss, says Okorocha

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has said the outcome of the governorship election has justified his position on Senator Hope Uzodinma, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    According to Okorocha, his earlier warning that Uzodimma was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and planted as a mole to destroy APC’s chances in the election, was confirmed during the election.

    He said Uzodinma, being among the first set of people to rush to the home of the PDP candidate after he was declared winner, confirmed the pact he had with the PDP.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, reads: “We have been vindicated over our repeated claim that Chief Hope Uzodinma has remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), both in spirit and in body, and that it was wrong for the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, to have handed over the governorship ticket to him, no matter the deal.

    “We maintained that Chief Uzodinma was just a mole in the APC. Today, the governorship election and its outcome have obviously vindicated us.

    “Beside Uzodinma working for the PDP, he was one of the first people to celebrate with the PDP candidate, Emeka Ihedioha, after he was announced winner. The video of Uzodinma’s celebrating with Ihedioha has gone virile on the social media.

    “Uzodinma succeeded through Adams Oshiomhole by ensuring that only his supporters were included in the list of party agents given to INEC, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Francis Ezeonu, insisted on the list, just to ensure the success of their conspiracy.

    “Their target was to destroy APC in the Southeast and in Imo in particular, thereby authenticating claims in some quarters that it is all about 2023. One therefore wonders how Oshiomhole feels today, seeing the only APC state in the southeast before he became chairman, taken over by the PDP.

    “We also sustained the contention that Imo people would not vote for Uzodinma because they know him very well, but Oshiomhole refused to listen. He came fourth and never showed that he took part in the election. Posterity and history will judge Oshiomhole and Uzodinma for APC’s fate in the Southeast, especially in Imo State.”

    But Uzodinma described Okorocha’s allegations as unfounded and malicious.

    Uzodinma, who spoke through his media aide, Mbadiwe Emelumba, said Okorocha’s claim was a ploy to tarnish his image after working against the APC.

    “Okorocha is in the habit of lying to tarnish people’s image, but it was he who worked against APC from the beginning,” he noted.

  • Buhari deserves victory, say Ekiti elders

    Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders Forum has congratulated Governor Kayode Fayemi on his 54th birthday and grateful that President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2019 election.

    In a statement, the chairman of the forum Asiwaju George Akosile, said the efforts of the governor amplified Buhari’s victory in the state.

    He noted that APC’s brilliant performance was due to the support from its members and people of the state, hoping that it would translate to rapid development of the state.

    Read also: Ohanaeze Southwest mourns Debe Ojukwu

    Akosile said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Ekiti State Deputy Governor Bisi Egbeyemi’s support were exemplary.

    “We commend both the governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his deputy Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi for their transformational agenda in redefining the image of Ekiti State.”

  • What future for Oyo APC?

    The Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) performed woefully in the just concluded general elections. The state lost both the presidential and the governorship polls to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the factors that were responsible for the performance and the way forward.

    THE defeat of the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recent presidential election, President Muhammadu Buhari, in Oyo State came as a surprise. Many had thought that Oyo being an APC state would deliver for Buhari. Besides, incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the party’s senatorial candidate for Oyo South, was equally defeated by a dark horse fielded by the PDP.

    The party also inflicted a crushing defeat on the APC in the governorship and the House of Assembly elections. The PDP governorship candidate, Seyi Makinde, polled 515, 621 votes to defeat APC’s Adebayo Adelabu who garnered 357, 982 votes.

    A stalwart of the APC who spoke in confidence said: “Ajimobi performed well as governor, because he constructed and rehabilitated many roads more than all his predecessors. He also excelled in the provision of basic infrastructure, but his leadership style is negative. Ajimobi’s leadership style ruined the APC. He doesn’t listen to anybody; even those working with him don’t have access to him. He is not a team player. He is self-centred.

    “It was a protest vote against Ajimobi; it was the state versus Ajimobi, not the APC against the PDP. We won’t find ourselves in the position we are today, if Ajimobi had listened to words of wisdom. Look at the case of the aggrieved members that defected to other parties; he never made attempt to reconcile with them. Politics is a game of numbers. You can imagine if all those who left the party were still with us today; our party would have won all elections in the state.”

    The party stalwart said the defeat suffered by the APC was a result of protracted internal crises. The conflict, he said, dates back to the years of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the APC was formed.

    Before the 2011 general elections, the ACN had two distinct camps: those loyal to a former governor and leader of the party, Lam Adesina, and those in support of the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. The late Adesina’s camp was known as “Lamists”, while those loyal to Ajimobi were tagged “SENACO”, an acronym for the governor’s campaign organisation.

    Before the death of Adesina, there had been insinuations that the Lamists were being sidelined in the scheme of things. But the animosity was not pronounced until the death of Adesina and formation of the APC. The crack widened in December 2016 when some members of the Lamist group alleged that the governor was planning to impose candidates on party members in the local government election scheduled for February 2017. The conflict later degenerated into a sharp division in the party, which later snowballed into a full controversy that tore the party apart. The ward and state congresses turned violent.

    The crisis and in-fighting reached a crescendo during the build up to the last governorship primary. The Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, who was a governorship aspirant, rallied together some aggrieved APC members and federal lawmakers in the state under the umbrella of what they called “Unity Forum”.  Most of them had defected from the APC to other parties, like the ADC and the PDP.

    On the eve of the 2019 general elections, Shittu vowed to work against the APC in Oyo State. He was disqualified from participating in the governorship primary by the National Working Committee (NWC) on the ground that he did not participate in the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He rejected the call on him by the reconciliation committee to bury the hatchet in the interest of the party.

    Shittu said: “Before you talk of reconciliation you must first talk of restitution. If you violate somebody’s property and you are found out, instead of you to surrender what you had stolen you are now talking of reconciliation. As for me, I don’t recognise the governorship candidate of the APC. I am in court and I am sure that I would triumph over those who were less than intelligent to foist a stranger on our party in Oyo State.

    “With all sense of humility, I have passed the stage where any party would threaten me. I am in court and if the party is sure that it has a better basis for what they have done, let us go and meet in court. You don’t start threatening those who feel unfairly treated, thinking you can get me out of the justice system.”

    The minister alleged that some leaders in the APC were worse than some of the PDP members they were accusing of impunity and corruption. He added: “I have passed that stage where any party will be threatening me. The loss is not mine, but that of the people of Oyo State who deserve the best in governance.”

    The APC spokesman in Oyo State, Dr Olatunde AbdulAzeez, said this is not the time to blame any individual for the party’s misfortune. His words: “I don’t believe in blame game. What matters to us now is how we are going to bounce back to power; it is not how long it takes you to get up when you fall, but the courage you bring into it that matters.

    “As progressives, we know in politics, there must be challenges. How we are able to overcome these challenges will separate us from the conservatives. In 2003, we were in complete dark, when the entire Southwest, except Lagos State, was taken over by the PDP. We didn’t succumb; we took our time to re-strategise and reposition our party and by the grace of God, we regained power in 2011.

    “In 2019, our problem is in isolation. In the whole of Southwest, only Oyo State was taken over by the PDP. The kitchen will be too hot for them. Oyo State is odd man in the Southwest. The PDP victory in Oyo State will not last.”

    On the way forward, AbdulAzeez said: “The APC in Oyo State should restructure its activities. For the next one year, it will be ‘siddon look approach’. We have pretenders in the fold. Within one year, they will show their true colour. We shall embark on stock taking. The hypocrites among us would find their way; our blood will not desert us.”

    But, Ogundare had advised the APC against shutting its door against aggrieved members who left the party. He said the party should have a sober reflection over its problems and find enduring solutions to them. He said: “If I were Ajimobi I will go for an all inclusive reconciliation. Invite those who left to a round table meeting and resolve all the differences in the interest of the party.

    “You can’t say people like Pa Michael Koleoso from Oke-Ogun zone, Dr Busari Adebisi, Adebayo Shittu, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, Yinus Akintunde, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Chief Adegoke Oyetunji and many others that have decamped are not relevant in Oyo politics. Ajimobi should put ego aside and look for a way to accommodate these people. If he is able to do that, the APC would bounce back in Oyo State very soon.”

    The analyst said if the APC had reconciled with former Governor Alao-Akala weeks before the election, it would have performed better. He described the situation whereby it took the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to intervene and get Alao-Akala back to work for the APC governorship candidate in less than a week to the day of election as laudable, but too late. He said the scenario suggested either Ajimobi did not make overtures to Alao-Akala or that the former governor rebuffed him.

    Ogundare advised the APC National Working Committee to reconcile aggrieved party members in Oyo State. He said Ajimobi is a party to the crisis. He added: “So, there is no way he can resolve the crisis fairly. Asking Ajimobi to preside the reconciliation meeting is like asking him to be a judge and prosecutor in his own case.”

     

  • Southwest APC congratulates Sanwo-Olu, Abiodun, others

    The Southwest All Progressives Congress (APC) has congratulated Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his Ogun State counterpart, Dapo Abiodun, on their victory at the poll.

    The party, congratulated Lagos State Deputy Governor-elect, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; his Ogun State counterpart, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele; senators-elect and their counterparts in the House of Representatives in the region on their successful election.

    The APC National Vice Chairman, Mr. Bankole Oluwajana, congratulated them in a statement in Ibadan yesterday, urging the newly elected officers on the platform of the APC to uphold the tenets and values of the progressives.

    Although it lost governorship election in Oyo State, the APC won two states where governorship election held in the geo-political zone; 51 seats in the House of Representatives election out of 71 while it cleared 14 seats in the senatorial contest out of 24 seats.

    In the House of Representatives contest, the breakdown shows that in the Southwest, the APC won four seats in Ondo State; six in Osun State; nine in Oyo State; six in Ogun State; 20 in Lagos State and cleared all six seats in Ekiti State.

    Also, in the senatorial contest, the party won one seat in Ondo State; three in Ekiti State; two in Osun State; two in Oyo State; three in Ogun State and three in Lagos State, thereby affirming APC’s political control in the geo-political zone.

    With this performance, Oluwajana noted that the Southwest “is the nerve centre of progressive politics in Nigeria. We, thus, urge all those elected on the platform of the APC to uphold the tenets and values of the progressive politics the zone is known for.”

    Except in the case of Oyo State where a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Temitope Olatoye was killed on Monday, Oluwajana acknowledged that the elections were peaceful and orderly in all states of the Southwest.

    Although he lamented the party’s defeat in Oyo State, Oluwajana assured that the party would reclaim its mandate at the election petition tribunal, which according to him, was the only legitimate means available to the party.

    He thanked the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; APC National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba and the APC National Deputy Chairman (South), Otunba Niyi Adebayo for their contribution to the party’s victory in the region.

    Oluwajana, also, thanked all serving governors, former governors, ministers, federal lawmakers, party leaders at all levels and all South-west people, who contributed to the sterling performance of the APC in the just concluded elections.

     

  • Echoes of election drama in Edo

    Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR examines why the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the presidential election in Edo State and the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the House of Assembly polls.

    During the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki boasted that the state would deliver one million votes to President Mohammadu Buhari. By the time the votes were counted on February 23, the Edo APC was defeated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a margin of 7849 votes. The PDP won in eight local government areas and had a total of 275,691 votes while the APC won in 10 local government area with a total of 267,842 votes.

    The loss of the February 23 presidential and parliamentary elections has dealt a big blow to the Edo APC. It was a defeat leaders of the APC in Edo South Senatorial District never expected, especially in the three metropolitan Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha and Egor. The margin in these three local government was so wide that victory from other local government areas could not bridge the gap.

    In Oredo for example, the APC scored 21,496 against the 35,841 garnered by the PDP. And Oredo is supposed to be the stronghold of Governor Godwin Obaseki, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, National President of Road Transport Employers of Nigeria, Comrade Osakpamwan Eriyo, Chief Osaro Idah, Captain Hosa Okunbor, Secretary of Edo APC, Lawrence Okah, Attorney General of the state, Professor Yinka Omoregbe, Chairman of SUBEB, Joan Oviawe, Nigerian Ambassador to Mozambique, Hon Uyi Igbe amongst others.

    The APC lost all the 10 wards in Egor local government and polled 11,903 while the PDP got 23,556 in the presidential election. It was the huge votes from Edo North senatorial district where National Chairman of the APC,  Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, hails from that narrowed the margin of defeat. Buhari polled 114,071 votes from Edo North. The APC won in all the six local government areas in Edo North.

    What made Edo South APC leaders sure of victory was that the excuses given for the 2015 defeat were no longer tenable. In the 2015 general elections, the PDP defeated the APC with a margin of defeat of 78,400 by scoring 286,869 votes while the APC had 208,469 votes. The PDP won two senatorial seats and five House of Representatives seats while the APC had one seat in the Senate and four seats in the House of Representatives. The factors adduced for the defeat were that the PDP had huge financial war chest from the then federal government and the support of security personnel to harass and detain APC chieftains.

    However, without the resources available to the Edo PDP in 2015, the party was able to win elections in Ovia North East, Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha and Egor.

    Earlier in January this year, a chieftain of the PDP, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, had said in an interview there were many members of the APC that refused to defect and are prepared to work for the victory of the PDP.

    But Mr. Charles Idahosa replied that the Edo APC leaders have identified those planning to sabotage the APC chances of winning the election in Edo State.

    He said: “It will interest you to know that we are already aware of the saboteurs within the Edo APC. We are waiting for them but we don’t want to expose them. We are monitoring them. We want to see how they will do it. The APC is bigger than any of us. The APC will outlived us.

    “The truth is that Obaseki is doing well. Before the rally, they held a meeting somewhere in Abuja that Edo State will not get up to 20 percent of the population at Garrick.

    “They met with Oshiomhole and told him all kinds of stories that Obaseki is not doing well. The people complaining are people like me and other party leaders who are not having bounteous time. We know people are susceptible to change and you cannot say Oshiomhole is Obaseki. Obaseki style is different and we are happy. We, the political leaders, are not getting the bounty harvest we used to get but we have to face the reality.

    “The survival of the party is paramount. You saw the crowd at Garrick, it is due to how the general public perceive Obaseki. The people are with him but because we are vocal and are the political leaders. It is not the common man that is complaining.

    “The ordinary man is with Obaseki. The civil servants are happy, he is constructing roads and building infrastructure across the state. He is preparing Edo for the future. It is high time those of us politicians that are shouting key into the Obaseki’s vision. We should stop all the complains.”

    Governor Obaseki might have promised Buhari the one million votes apparently based on the over 500,000 APC members that turned out to participate in the APC presidential primaries and the achievements recorded by his administration. He has created 77,000 jobs. He is called ‘Wake and See’ Governor and ‘Governor of Oredo’ due to numerous roads constructed and others under construction. Salaries are paid as at when due. Reforms in local government administration have led to astronomical rise in the council’s IGR which in turn led to payment of arrears of salaries owned local government staff. He, however, failed to realise that some party chieftains were waiting in the wings to humiliate him.

    Some APC leaders who attributed the electoral loss to internal sabotage by aggrieved APC chieftains said some leaders did not spend the mobilisation fund given to them because they felt it was their own share having been abandoned for over two year.

    The hate speech against President Buhari by some religious leaders made it difficult to convince some voters to vote for the APC. Many Christians were told pointedly to vote against Buhari. An APC chieftain in Egor said many voters were out to vote out President Buhari  and in the process voted against all APC candidates.

    He said, “Our members voted for us but other non-partisan people voted against Buhari and in the process they voted against other APC candidates.”

    A chieftain said the battle for the APC governorship ticket in 2020 was responsible for the role some leaders played in Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba-Okha. It was learnt that those interested in Obaseki’s job asked their boys to work for the PDP so as to discredit Obaseki before the national leadership of the APC.

    Other factors adduced were lack of political patronage, non-appointment of boards of parastatals and alleged imposition of unpopular candidates and party chairmen.

    A former Chairman of Oredo and candidate of the APC for Oredo East, Osaro Obazee, insisted that internal sabotage was not responsible for the defeat of the APC.

    “We did not loose the election. It is voter education we need to embark on. It is politics. A lot of people will say what they want to say. After election, we did appraisal of what happened and we discovered that the people who voted for voted wrongly and that was why the results were voided.

    “If a lot of our results were not voided, we would have been declared. There is nothing like internal sabotage. The major factor is that those who voted did not know how to vote.”

    Speaking on the outcome of the elections, Governor Obaseki, said the APC performed better when compared to results of the 2015 general elections and expressed appreciation to Edo people for the growing acceptance of the party.

    Obaseki, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, assured that the APC  would record better results in the March 9 House of Assembly elections.

    According to him, “With the results out, it is obvious that there is a growing acceptance of the APC in the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state. The margins show that we have considerably closed the gap here. The outcome of the polls turned out to be better than the previous one held in the state in 2015.

    “A comparison of the results shows that in 2019, PDP polled 275,691, and the APC got 267,842; while in 2015, the PDP scored 286,869 against APC’s 208,469 in the presidential election.

    “In 2015, the margin of defeat was 78400 votes, but in 2019, it dropped by 90 per cent to 7849 votes. This is a considerable improvement on the party’s performance.

    “We appreciate the people of Edo for coming out en masse to cast their votes and for aligning with the vision of returning President Muhammadu Buhari, and we wish to congratulate them for the party’s strong showing.”

    Hon Ehiozuwa has however kicked against the results released by INEC for Ikpoba-Okha/Egor Federal Constituency in which his PDP opponent, Jude Ise-Idehen, was declared winner.

    Candidate of the All Progressives Congress Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima, has rejected the results of the February 23 National Assembly elections.

    Speaking to newsmen in Benin City, Agbonnayima said reports from APC agents and independent observers from various Wards in the constituency established flagrant violations of the provision of the Electoral Act.