From Our Reporters
Governors Seyi Makinde and Ahmadu Fintiri were yesterday endorsed by delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo and Adamawa to pursue their second term bid.
Makinde secured the ticket with 1,040 votes while his closest rival, former deputy governor of the state, Hazeem Gbolarumi scored six votes.
The result was announced by the Secretary of the Oyo State PDP Governorship Electoral Committee, Alhaji Abdullahi MaiBasira, who held brief for the committee’s chairman, Senator Ben Obi.
Adamawa governor, Fintiri polled 663 votes out of the 668 delegates votes. Chairman of the PDP Governorship Primaries Committee, Gavin Katabs, said Fintiri, former Adawama Speaker polled the highest number of valid votes after five votes were invalidated to actualise his reelection bid.
In Akwa Ibom State, Governor Udom Emmanuel’s anointed candidate, Pastor Umo Eno, garnered 993 delegates votes to beat 13 other contestants.
The results of the election showed Aniekan Etim scoring two votes, Mike Enyong, one vote; Senator Bassey Albert, one vote while Mr Akan Okon polled three votes. Onofiok Luke got three votes, Umoh James, two votes and Mr. Ide Owodiong one vote.
Eno is the immediate past Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources in the state.
In Benue State, Speaker, House of Assembly, Titus Uba, emerged in Makurdi.
Returning officer for PDP, Bode Ojomo said of the 851 votes cast, Uba polled 731 votes to defeat four other aspirants, his closest opponent, Benson Abounu, the deputy governor scoring 81 votes.
Congratulating Uba, Governor Samuel Ortom said: “A man can receive nothing except he is given from above. This one too, God has done it and we return all glory to Him.”
In Enugu State, lawyer and financial analyst, Mr. Peter Mbah emerged the party’s governorship candidate.
Announcing the result, Chairman of the PDP Enugu state, Ambuno Zik said Mba polled a total of 790 votes to beat his closest rival, Chijioke Edeoga who scored one votes, while Chinyeaka Ohaa got three votes, Ike Ekweremandu and Chukwunta Gilbert scored one vote respectively.
Before the election held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Ekweremadu, a former deputy senate president, had withdrawn from the race.
However, eight aspirants, Kingsley Udeh, Erasmus Anike, Nwabueze Ugwu, Ralph Nwoye, Prof. Jehu Nnaji, Beloved-Dan Anike, Dr. Gabriel Ajah, and Abraham Nneji Chukwudi, had stepped down for Mba.
In Delta State, speaker of the state House of Assembly, Sheriff Francis Oborevwori emerged the party’s candidate in the primary conducted at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba.
Oborevwori polled 590 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Commissioner for Finance, David Edevbie who scored 113.
James Manager, a fourth term senator, scored 83 votes to come a distant third. Three votes were voided. Former minister of state for education, Kenneth Gbagi, had earlier announced his withdrawal from the race.
In Gombe State, Muhammad Barde, won with 160 out of the 329 votes. The founder and owner of Sun Trust Bank would battle incumbent Governor Muhammad Yahaya of the APC.
In Abia, Prof Uche Ikonne, 70, former vice chancellor of Abia State University (ABSU) and anointed candidate of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu polled 468 votes to defeat Lucky Igbokwe who polled 45 votes to come second.
Seven former aspirants, including Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Abia deputy governor, Ude Oko Chukwu had withdrawn from the race, citing irregularities to the process that produced the 3-man delegates list.
Convener of Lagos4Lagos, Olajide Adediran, aka Jandor, emerged the winer for the Lagos State gubernatorial primary yesterday.
Before the commencement of the process, four aspirants had withdrawn from the race, leaving two to slug it out.
After voting, Jandor polled 679 votes to beat his other rival, David Vaughan, popularly called Dakova, who got 20 votes. A total of 20 votes were voided.
Conceding, Dakova congratulated Jandor and promised to support him to wrest power from the APC.
Jandor in an acceptance speech promised to use the ticket to unite Lagos PDP so it could win the governorship poll 2023.
In Jigawa, former governor Sule Lamido’s son, Mustapha got 892 votes to beat former minister of power, Shehu Saleh Hadejia who got no vote.
In Rivers State, former Director of Finance and Accounts, Government House, Siminialayi Fubara, emerged the governorship candidate by polling 721 votes to defeat 15 other aspirants in the primary, among them Kamalu Isaac who scored 86 votes; George Kelly, 37; Danagogo Tammy, 36; West Morgan, four votes; Briggs David, four; Felix Obuah, two votes, while eight votes were voided.
But in Taraba, delegates stoned the convoy of Governor Darius Ishaku and his deputy Alhaji Haruna Manu at the Catholic Pastoral Centre Jalingo.
Our correspondent reports that the deputy Governor had driven to the venue where the delegates, supposed to vote at the party’s Congress to elect a Gubernatorial candidate today are hosted, but the delegates in defiance drove the deputy Governor away with stones.
Shortly after, the state Governor’s convoy drove into the arena but was not allowed to stop as the delegates started stoning the convoy insisting that they did not want to talk to the governor and leadership of the party.
Some of the delegates said that they were not comfortable with the imposition of the state PDP party Chairman as an aspirant when he was never a part of the process until barely forty eight hours to the Primaries.
Minister of Defense General Theophilus Danjuma flew into the state and allegedly anointed him as his candidate for the party’s flag ahead of the 2023 general elections.
However, the action has sparked widespread condemnation and agitations from stakeholders who insists that they would not have the elder statesman impose a candidate on the party again, more so that the candidate is the seating Chairman of the party and from the same zone as the current governor who is about to complete his second tenure in office.