Sheriff declares Edo guber primaries illegal set June 26 as new date

CLAIMANT to the office of the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has declared Monday’s governorship primaries in Edo State illegal.

He is, therefore, set to conduct a fresh exercise.

In a letter addressed to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), signed by himself and his group’s national secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, he urged the electoral body not to give legitimacy to the exercise as, according to him, it was a product of an illegal caretaker committee.

In a separate statement, the Sheriff group released a scheduled congress in Edo State to start from tomorrow to June 29, with the inauguration of congress committee scheduled for tomorrow.

In yet another statement, Sheriff warned state chairmen and officers of the party to desist from meeting or having anything with the illegal caretaker committee and warned that anybody dealing with them is on his own.

He also announced the appointment of some deputy national Officers as members of the National Working Committee in acting capacity.

According to him, “this is in pursuance to a resignation of five members of NWC and in accordance with the provisions of sections 39(2), 42(2), 43(2), 44(2) and 47(6) of the constitution of the party 2012, as amended.”

The newly appointed officers are Mr Okey Nnadozie, acting national organising secretary; Mr Alonge-Niyi Dennis, acting national youth leader; Mrs Hannatu Ullam, acting national women leader and Bashir Maidugu, acting national legal adviser.

Edo Election: Osaro Onaiwu dumps PDP, picks APGA ticket

The former Director-General, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum, Osaro Onaiwu, on Tuesday, decamped to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

Announcing the development in a tweet via its Twitter Handle, @ApgaHQ, on Tuesday, the party announced that Osaro Onaiwu finally picked the APGA nomination form to contest the September 10 Edo Gubernatorial Elections.

This came barely 24 hours after Onaiwu resigned as the DG, PDP Governors’ Forum.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, declared winner of PDP governorship primary

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

Ize-Iyamu polled a total of 584 votes to defeat his two other opponents.

The other aspirants, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and Solomon Edebiri, had 91 and 38 votes to come second and third, respectively.

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

Umahi was accompanied by the Governors of Delta and Gombe States, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and Ibrahim Dakwambo.

However, both Iduoriyekemwen and Edebiri staged a walkout prior to the announcement of the results.