Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, has arrived at the National Secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and is demanding to receive his certificate of return.
According to him, “today is the day set aside for the collection of the certificate of return for the winner of the primary. I understand someone came yesterday and was given, well, the court will decide.”
Two candidates, Philip Shaibu and Asue Ighodalo, emerged as the 2024 Edo governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after parallel primaries were held in the state on February 22, 2023.
Shaibu won with 301 votes, while Ighodalo won with 577 votes in a separate primary held at the Samuel Ogbemudia.
Shaibu was chosen as the PDP candidate by a group of delegates who gathered at a building on Commercial Avenue. Meanwhile, other delegates were getting accredited at the Edo Hotel Marquee before heading to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for the primary election.
The delegates mentioned that when they tried to get accredited at the venue, security personnel asked them to leave.
They also noticed that the list of delegates released by the party’s national leadership included the names of residents of Bayelsa State and members of the All Progressives Congress. They believed this list was not accurate.
Declaring Shaibu winner of the election, Bartholomew Moses said, “During the counting of this primary election, Philip Shaibu has a score of 301 votes, and therefore, we hereby declare Philip Shaibu as the authentic elected candidate for this election in the PDP.”
On the contrary, the committee in charge of the governorship primary, led by Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, reported that a total of 594 delegates were chosen to participate in the primary. Out of these, 585 delegates were authorized to vote.
During the announcement of the final votes, Lawal, who served as the Chief Returning Officer for the governorship primary and also chaired the committee, revealed that Asue Ighodalo received 577 votes, while his main competitor Philip Shaibu only received one vote.
Lawal mentioned that Anselm Ojezua, Osaro Onaiwu, Felix Akhabue, Martins Uhomoibhi, Hadizat Umoru, and Arthur Esele did not receive any votes. Additionally, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and Omosede Igbinedion withdrew from the race.
He also stated that six votes were considered void.
