Two candidates have emerged as 2024 Edo governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after two factions of the party held parallel primaries on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Foremost lawyer and investment banker, Asue Ighodalo, was elected at the delegate election of the party held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
However, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon Philip Shaibu held a parallel primary elsewhere on the same day and was declared the parallel winner
In the primary election held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Ighodalo, who is believed to be Governor Obaseki’s preferred aspirant scored 577 votes to beat Bar Anselm Ojezua, Arthur Esele, Osaro Onaiwu, Martins Uhomoibhi, Hadizat Umoru and Felix Akhabue all scoring zero, while six votes were voided out of the 585 accredited delegates.
The deputy governor, Rt. Hon Philip Shaibu, who had earlier emerged as a factional candidate in a parallel governorship primary election, scored one vote in that election, despite emerging candidate with 300 votes at the parallel election he organised at another venue. Shaibu stayed away from the election organised at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
Declaring Ighodalo the winner, the chief returning officer of the Edo PDP Guber Primaries and the governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Dauda Lawal said, “The Committee having carefully sorted out and counted the votes found that Ighodalo scored 577 votes, Philip Shaibu scored 1 vote, while others got zero.”
In his acceptance speech, Ighodalo, thanked Governor Godwin Obaseki and the entire people of Edo State for their love and support, noting that Obaseki has laid the foundation for him to build upon if eventually elected governor and promised to assemble young men and women for his government to turn the state around.
