Ex-Edo SSG, Ize-Iyamu, wins PDP gov ticket, losers kick

A former Secretary to the State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has been declared the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship primary held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, the state capital, on Monday.

Ize-Iyamu polled a total of 584 votes to defeat a former member of the state House of Assembly, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, and the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2012 governorship election, Solomon Edebiri, and two other opponents.

Iduoriyekemwen and Edebiri, had 91 and 38 votes to come second and third, respectively.

But they staged a walkout prior to the announcement of the result and refused to speak with journalists.

The accreditation of the 751 delegates drawn from the 192 wards across the state was done in three centres located in Benin.

The counting of votes was supervised by the candidate of the PDP in the 2015 governorship election in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje.

Ize-Iyamu, who was the state campaign coordinator of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election, was declared the winner by the Chairman of the PDP Primary Committee and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, at about 4pm.

Umahi, who was accompanied by the governors of Delta and Gombe states, Ifeanyi Okowa and Ibrahim Dakwambo, respectively, explained that 713 delegates were accredited and voted during the primary.

He also noted that 38 delegates did not turn out for the exercise.

While announcing the result, the chairman commended the aspirants, delegates and other members of the party for their commitment to the unity of the party.

Umahi, who later handed copies of the result to a representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the state Chairman of the PDP, Dan Orbih, however, appealed to the other aspirants support the candidate of the party and ensure victory in September.

He also announced that the leadership of the party would meet with the two aggrieved aspirants after the exercise.

“Now, the work has been done and I want to lead with all the aspirants and the candidate of the party to support whoever God has chosen, so that the will of God will definitely be upheld in the land of Edo State,” he said.

In their separate remarks, Okowa said that the party had lived up to its promise to conduct a credible party primary.

He also pledged the support of the PDP in Delta State during the political campaigns in Edo, ahead of the governorship poll.

Dakwambo described the party’s primary election as transparent and well conducted.

He also added that the PDP would work and win the September election.