In a dramatic turn of events, Hon. Anamero Dekeri, one of the three aspirants claiming to be the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the upcoming September 21 governorship election in Edo State, made a bold move on Monday.
He stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, demanding that its national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, issue him a certificate of return.
This development follows the parallel primary polls conducted by the APC last Saturday in Benin, the capital of Edo State. In an unusual scenario, three aspirants were announced as winners at different locations across the city.
Dennis Idahosa, a member of the House of Representatives, was declared the winner by the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee, Governor Hope Uzodimma, at Protea Hotel. Meanwhile, Senator Monday Okpebholo was declared the winner by the Returning Officer for the election, Dr Stanley Ugboaja, at the residence of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Later, the spokesman of the local government returning officers, Ojo Babatunde, declared Anamero Sunday Dekeri, the member representing Etsako Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, as the winner of the contest.
Arriving at the APC national secretariat on Monday afternoon, Dekeri headed straight to Ganduje’s office. He presented a letter to the party’s helmsman, in which he demanded the certificate of return, asserting that he had scored the highest number of votes at the primaries. This latest development adds another layer of complexity to the already contentious APC governorship race in Edo State.