PDP Primaries: How Ihedioha, Ribadu, Folarin floored opponents...Obanikoro, Maku, Wogu defeated

Emeka Ihedioha

Amiable Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha floored Ikedi Ohakim and others to clinch the PDP governorship ticket of Imo State at a very smooth and well applauded primary in Owerri.

Also, barely four months after joining the Peoples Democratic Party, a pharmacist and an entrepreneur, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, on Monday emerged as the PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State.

He defeated a former Minister of State for Defence and Nigeria’s ex-High Commissioner to Ghana, Musiliu Obanikoro,who was touted as the leading contestant in the primary.

Agbaje scored 432 votes as against the 346 by Obanikoro. The other aspirants, Babatunde Gbadamosi got 21 votes;   Tokunbo Kamson,   46 votes and   Adedeji Doherty, 21 votes.

The exercise was nearly marred by   violence following a controversy which surrounded the number of votes cast by the delegates.

When the voting started, the Chairman of the electoral committee, Senator Shehu Kumo, announced that there were 806 delegates.

But when votes were being sorted, it was discovered that the number of votes cast were 863.

All efforts to get the number of votes and the number of delegates to tally proved abortive but Kumo insisted that the exercise should continue.

Amid the resistance by supporters of some of the aspirants, about 60 armed policemen formed a barricade around the ballot boxes and ensured that the counting continued.

When tables and chairs were overturned at the centre, Obanikoro immediately stormed out.

Immediately after the announcement, Agbaje commended the committee and promised to work with other aspirants.

As the tension heightened, about 200 policemen and operatives of the Department of State Service stormed the venue. Agbaje was whisked away before policemen   began firing gunshots into the air.

It was however victory galore for many of the PDP governors   as most of their preferred candidates triumphed during   the race in their   states.

But the Acting Governor of Adamawa State, Bala Ngilari, had a shocker as he was beaten by a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu,   at the old Parade Ground,   Abuja where the exercise for the state took place.

There were however boycotts and protests by many aspirants in states like Rivers, Akwa Ibom,   Ogun and Oyo.

Imo

In Owerri, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, defeated Ifeanyi Araraume and former Governor Ikehim Ohakim to pick the ticket.

He polled 246 votes while Araraume had 236 votes. Ohakim   scored 213 votes and Senator . Chris Anyanwu, 10 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Ihedioha said, “By giving me the governorship ticket of the PDP, the good Lord has used you to anoint me to lead the charge to reclaim our dear state from the shackles of bad governance. I am humbled. I heed this call with immense sense of responsibility. To my brothers and sisters in the contest, we are all winners. To the delegates, you have made Imo proud. I thank you all. God bless our dear Imo State.”

Kaduna

Before the accreditation of delegates, the Electoral Committee Chairman announced that three aspirants – Lawal Abdullahi Yakawada,     Felix Hassan Hyat and   John Ajei – withdrew from the race.

Yero polled 970 out of the 1,072 votes to beat his only contender, Haruna Zego, who scored one vote.

Abia

Okezie Ikpeazu polled 487 votes to clinch the   ticket while his closest rival,   Uche Ogah, came second with 103 votes.   The immediate past Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu,   came third with 33 votes.

A two-time Deputy Governor of the state, Acho Nwakanma, and Friday Nwosu secured five votes each. A former Managing Director of the defunct Hallmark Bank, Marc Wabara and Okey Emuchay got three votes respectively.

The state former Commissioner for Housing, Iheanacho Okezie – Orji, came last with a single vote. Nine votes cast were voided.

Enugu

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Ayogu Eze,   emerged as the winner of a parallel primary held at the Filbon Hotel in Enugu.

Eze scored about 530 votes to defeat the other aspirants, who were absent at the event.

It was gathered that the electoral panel, headed by King Asara A. Asara, initially tried to get the aspirants to participate in a unified primary, but Eze reportedly backed out following disagreements over the delegates list.

Two other aspirants – Chinedu Onu and Anayo Onwuegbu – had earlier on Sunday stepped down for the PDP consensus candidate and a member of the House of Representatives, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

But another primary supervised by an electoral panel from Abuja and attended by Governor Sullivan Chime, the Deputy Senate President,   Ike Ekweremadu, and members of the   the state leadership of the party, was   ongoing as of press time at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

Ugwuanyi is expected to emerge as the party’s flag bearer from this.

Niger

A former Chief of Staff to Governor Babangida Aliyu, Alhaji Umar   Nasko, garnered 908 votes to clinch the party’s sole ticket.

The returning officer, Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye ,   declared Nasko winner. The Deputy Governor, Ahmed Ibeto, had 34 votes; Sahabu Darangi,   11 votes;   Mustapha Bello, 11 votes; and Hanafi Sudan, 57 votes.

Garba Dukku and Isah Kotangora had no votes.   Senator Nuhu Aliyu withdrew on the day of the election.

Delta

Senator Ifeanyi Okowa was declared the winner of the primary held at the Events Centre, Asaba.

Okowa scored 406 votes to beat his closest rival, Mr. David Edevbie, who scored 299 votes. The immediate-past Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Victor Ochei, came third with 185 votes.

Ndudi Elumelu had 58 votes; Godsday Orubebe, 49 votes;   Sylvester Ofuani, 10 votes; . Ovie Omo-Agege, 10 votes;   Sam Obi, 10 votes; Clement Ofuani, seven votes; Godwill Obielum, 22 votes;   Ngozi Olejeme, 11 votes; Peter Okocha, six votes;   Festus Okubor, five votes; Clement Uwaka, one vote;   Charles Emetulu, four votes, Kenneth Gbagi, two votes;   Gabriel Oyibode, two votes;   and Omene, zero vote.

Tony Obuh, who was one of the leading aspirants, had withdrawn shortly before the exercise after his political godfather, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, switched loyalty to Edevbie.

Oyo

A former Senate Leader Teslim Folarin, emerged as the party’s candidate for Oyo State.

The outcome of the primary which was conducted through the use of statutory delegates is being contested by another aspirant, Seyi Makinde, who stayed away from the venue.

The statutory delegates used comprised members of the state executive and the   Board of Trustees   in the state, the National Assembly members elected from the state, their counterparts in the   House of Assembly and five delegates from all the 33 councils in the state.

A total of 211 delegates voted in the primary with Folarin having 167 votes.

Former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who also stayed away from the exercise, had two votes while a former Deputy Governor to Alao-Akala, Mr. Hazeem Gbolarumi, had 12 votes.

However, Alao-Akala, who addressed   his supporters in Ogbomoso while the primary was going on in Ibadan, said he was still in the race for the governorship election. He added   that he would announce his next political move soon.

The ex-governor said, “We cannot but experience such travail as we are going through at this time but we should be conscious of what moves we make because it’s not a personal decision; people have been involved and they shall be duly involved in making any further decision.

“With your support, I am still in the race and we are going to participate and win the 2015 election by God’s grace. There   is no cause to panic or worry about anything.”

Makinde also protested the outcome of the primary in   a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu. The letter which was copied to the Presidency was signed by his lawyer, Ikechukwu Ezechukwu.

Makinde warned that if the PDP decided to wave aside the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja on the suit instituted by Mr. Adelowo Aremu, which recognised delegates that were produced in the rescheduled ward congress, it (PDP) might not field a candidate for 2015 elections in the state.

The letter read in part, “The terms of the said judgment are clear and unequivocal that no primary elections of PDP in Oyo State will be valid unless and except the delegates, who voted at the said primary are those who were elected at the various wards in the state during the November ward delegates congress.

“The court further ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission not to accept, recognise or deal with any candidate whose nomination was derived from party primary in Oyo State based on the votes of delegates other than those elected at the ward congress as such primary stood null and void and of no effect.”

Akwa Ibom

Twenty members of Forum of Akwa Ibom State PDP Governorship Aspirants   boycotted the primary won by immediate past Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.

Emmanuel scored     1,201 votes while Okpolum Etteh had   38 votes and Helen Esuene , 12 votes.

Effiong Abia scored four votes; Nsima Ekere, four votes; Larry Esin, two votes; Benjamin Okoko, one vote   and Isangedighi Jerome, one vote.

The 22 aspirants   protested against the conduct of the primaries and stayed away from the venue in Uyo.

Rivers

A former Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, beat 23 other aspirants to emerge victorious   in Port Harcourt

Seventeen out of the 24 aspirants boycotted the exercise which was held under the watchful eyes of   operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Service and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

Wike appealed to those who lost to accept defeat in good faith and work towards the success of the party in the forth coming polls.

He said, “I offer the olive branch to all combatants in the struggle to recover for the PDP and indeed all Rivers people, the stolen mandate currently in the hands of the All Progressives Congress. We shall and we should work together to recover what is rightly ours. ”

Meanwhile, the Rivers Mainstream Coalition has rejected the conduct of the governorship primary in the state, describing it as a show of shame.

The group, in a statement   by its spokesman, Mr. Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo, urged all coalition partners to wait for its next action.

Ogun

The Ogun State chapter of the party allegedly ignored a directive from the National Working Committee, not to hold the exercise.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh,   had in a statement on Monday,   indicated that the NWC had cancelled the primary.

The statement read in part, “For the avoidance of doubt, the NWC hereby states that it did not authorise any governorship primary in Ogun State. Consequently, any such exercise held in the state is hereby declared null and void and of no effect.”

The statement added that a new date would be communicated for the primary.

However, at the end of the primary held at the party’s secretariat in Abeokuta, Gboyega Isiaka   clinched the   ticket. He polled 705 votes while Kayode Amusan and   Segun Adewale polled 151 and 0 votes respectively.

Isiaka was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Party of Nigeria in the 2011 election.

The nine others who boycotted the exercise are Tony Ojesina     Yanju Lipede,   Remilekun Bakare, Sarafa Ishola, Yomi Majekodunmi   and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

Others are David Bamgbose,   Isiaq Akinlade and   Rafiu Ogunleye.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former governor of the state,   Gbenga Daniel, whose names were on the delegates list were absent.

The state chairman of PDP, Mr. Adebayo Dayo, told journalists that he had yet to receive any contrary instruction or directive from the NWC that the primary should not hold.

He said, “I am not in a position to confirm or deny what the national secretariat in Abuja has said. At the National Executive Council meeting we held last month or thereabout, we were given the guidelines and the timetable for the primaries.

“And today(Monday) happens to be the governorship primary, in all the PDP-controlled states, and Ogun State cannot be different. Moreover, the court’s judgment we got last week was clear on this.”

Isiaka, however, said his victory was for all, and “ a challenge that he is well prepared for.”

Adamawa

Ribadu garnered 688 delegate votes to beat   Ngilari.

Others who lost were Auwal, the son of the former National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur and Markus Gundiri.

Auwal got 33 votes; Gundiri, 30 votes; and Ngilari,   25 votes.

The PDP electoral officer, Senator Rufai Hanger announced the results of the primary held   at the old Parade Ground in Abuja.

.In his acceptance speech, Ribadu said, “My brothers and sisters, the true representatives of the people of Adamawa State, I am burdened by your choice this evening. I am challenged by it.

“I extend my hand of friendship to all those who aspired for this ticket. I believe in our collective desire to make Adamawa peaceful and a prosperous place to proudly call home.”

Cross River

The Senator representing Cross River North Senatorial District, Ben Ayade, on Monday clinched the   ticket   in the state.

Ayade polled 752 votes while   Joe Agi (SAN), secured 11 votes.   Francis Eworo had five votes while   Peter Otti and   Emma Ibeshi scored no votes.

One of the contenders for the race, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, pulled out at the last minute, alleging that the delegates’ congress list was fraught with irregularities.

Gombe

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo received 492 votes to clinch the ticket of the PDP. The governor, who was   unopposed, promised to consolidate on his achievements if given the mandate a second time.

Plateau

Senator Gyang Pwajok   polled 435 votes to defeat the other 16 candidates.

His closes rival, Mr. Ignatius Longjan, who is also the deputy governor, got 163 votes. He was followed by Senator Victor Lar, who got 109 votes.

Others are former Governor Fidelis Tapgun, one vote;  ex- chairman of the PDP in the state, Dr. Haruna Dabin, 16 votes; and the former Vice Chancellor of University of Jos, Prof. Sonny Tyoden, seven votes.

A total of 818 voters were accredited while 799 voted. There were five invalid votes.

Nasarawa

Alhaji Yusuf Agabi handed a crushing defeat to a former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku and six others.

Agabi scored 214 votes as against 160 votes by Maku.

Kwara

The exercise was postponed in the state.

The state Chairman of the PDP,   Iyiola Oyedepo, had while the delegates were waiting for the commencement of voting at the Arca Santa Hall in Ilorin,   called   the aspirants to a meeting in a room within the arena where he informed them that the   exercise had been postponed. No new date was announced for a new primary.

One of our correspondents gathered that over 700 delegates were accredited for the voting exercise.

Oyedepo had while addressing journalists, said there would be no manipulation of the primary.

Earlier in the day, there was rumour of an attempt to hold a parallel congress.

But the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Salihu Garab, assured the aspirants that nothing like that.

“People should be orderly and see themselves as leaders. Somebody who wants to govern the state would not encourage thuggery, they should not encourage rancour. The state is bigger than individuals,” he said .

Benue

Three people were shot and killed on Monday night by security operatives manning the entrance to the Aper Aku stadium venue of the   primary   in Makurdi.

It was gathered that the youth who were shot wanted to forcefully enter the venue when   security operatives shot them.

Election was yet to commence as of the time of filling in this report.