Dennis Idahosa has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for declaring his opponent Senator Monday Okpebholo the winner of party’s primary election.
Idahosa, who represents Ovia Federal Constituency, Edo State in the House of Representatives claimed that he won the APC primary election held on February 17, 2024, which was monitored by INEC and certified by the APC primary election committee.
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He said he scored 40,453 votes, while his closest rival, Senator Monday Okpebholo, who represents Edo Central District in the Senate, scored only 100 votes.
However, the APC declared the primary election inconclusive and conducted a supplementary election on February 22, 2024, in which Okpebholo emerged as the winner with 12,433 votes, while Idahosa got 6,541 votes.
Idahosa rejected the outcome of the supplementary election and described it as a charade. He said the APC did not give any reason for declaring the primary election inconclusive and did not follow the due process for conducting the supplementary election.
In a letter dated March 4, 2024, addressed to the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and signed by his legal firm, Wole Olanipekun & Co, Idahosa maintained that the primary election of February 17, 2024, remained the authentic and valid primary of the APC. He attached the copies of the result, the INEC report, and the APC primary election committee report to support his claim.
He also informed the INEC chairman that he had filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the validity of the supplementary election and seeking an injunction to restrain INEC from accepting or publishing any other name as the APC candidate for the Edo governorship election, apart from him.
He asked the INEC chairman to take cognisance of the suit and the primary election of February 17, 2024, in accepting and publishing the APC candidate for the Edo governorship election. He also urged the INEC chairman not to take any step that would preempt the court or prejudice the ongoing judicial process.
A former commissioner for environment in Edo State, Idahosa said he was confident that justice would prevail and that he would be declared the rightful candidate of the APC for the Edo governorship election.
Parts of the letter read; “The record of INEC/the Commission will show that, under your leadership, the Commission monitored the Edo State APC primary election for the nomination of the Governorship candidate of the APC pursuant to the prior notification that the primary election will specifically hold on 17th of February, 2024.
“The primary election was indeed held, and I garnered 40,453 votes, a copy of the result certified by INEC is attached herein with this letter.
“INEC’s report of monitoring the election confirms that, at the end of the process, I was returned as the duly elected candidate of the APC, a copy of the INEC report as certified by the Commission is attached.
“The APC primary election committee that conducted the election also confirmed that I won the election as evidenced by a report signed by all members of the committee (without a single instance of dissent).
“The APC subsequently confirmed to INEC that the primary election held as scheduled on 17th February, 2024; however, without giving any reason, indicated that the election was inconclusive and will be completed on 22nd February, 2024 and invited INEC to monitor the completion exercise.”
