The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, has lost his bid to return to the Green Chamber after losing out in the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary election for the Owan Federal Constituency.
Ihonvbere was not the only casualty in Saturday’s primaries as Hon Eseosa Iyawe representing Oredo Federal Constituency also lost his re-election bid
The Returning Officer, Kelvin Muhammed, who announced results of the primary election at the Afuze office of the ruling party, said Hon Andrew Ijegbai, a former Commissioner for Mining won the election by amassing a total of 3695 votes.
He said: “Five people contested this election. They are Hon. Andrew Ijegbai, Hon. Abdul Oroh Professor Julius Ihonvbere, Hon. Folly Ogidegbe and Barrister Stewart. The scores are as follows, Honorable Andrew Ijegbia scored 3,695 votes. Honorable Abdul Oroh scores 1,740 votes while Professor Julius Ihonvbere scored 1,005 votes.
“Honourable Folly scored 505 votes. Barrister Scot scored 642 vote. Total vote cast is 7,587 and the winner of this contest which is the primary is Hon. Andrew Ijegbai.”
Reacting to the outcome of the primary polls, Ijegbai commended the party executives for embarking on a transparent exercise and promised to represent the people well if elected at the general election.
In a similar twist of fate, the political tide shifted dramatically in Oredo Federal Constituency, bringing an abrupt end to Hon. Eseosa Iyawe’s hopes of returning to the Green Chamber.
In a fierce primary battle, the incumbent lawmaker was ultimately swept aside by the formidable Dr. Paddy Iyamu, who rallied party members to secure the mandate with a decisive 7,088 votes.
