ALL is not well in the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State, as a Federal High Court, in Abuja, will, today, begin sitting on a suit brought before it by Dennis Idahosa, who is claiming to be the Edo governorship candidate of the party and does not want the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to accept any other person except him as APC candidate.
This is coming on the heels of a deadlock over plans to “import” a governorship aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, into the APC, as running mate to Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Justice James Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja had last week fixed March 14, 2024, for the hearing of the action filed by Idahosa.
Granting Idahosa’s application made through his counsel, Bode Olanipekun, SAN of Wole Olanipekun & Co., Justice Omotosho directed service of the originating processes on Senator Okpebholo, by delivering same to the clerk of the National Assembly and/or to an adult person or official or secretary at the Senate chambers of the National Assembly, Three Arms Zone, Abuja; and/or delivering same to an adult person or official or secretary at the 2nd defendant’s office located at 40, Blantyre Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja.
Idahosa is urging the court to declare him as the APC candidate for the Edo governorship election, having scored 40,453 votes arguing that the declaration of Senator Okpebholo who scored 100 votes at the primaries of February 17, 2024, is an infraction of the Electoral Act, APC’s constitution and the guidelines for primary elections.”
Meanwhile there were plans for Ogbeide -Ihama to be made the running mate to Okpebholo who has been announced as the winner of the controversial primaries.
The move said to be championed by some leaders of both the APC and PDP from the South-South was said to have hit a brick wall as supporters of Idahosa at the meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday insisted that the candidate of the party is Idahosa.
A source at the parley said that “the leader of the party, Senator Adams Oshiomhole left the meeting for the Presidential villa and so far we are yet to get the latest development. So the situation is as it was after the meeting on Tuesday.”
However, Vanguard gathered that some leaders of the party from Edo South who were also aspirants before the primary but later stepped down and mobilised their supporters for Okpebholo have threatened to address a press conference and withdraw from the activities of the party if Idahosa was made the candidate.