The Resident Electoral Commissioner of Edo State, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, has confirmed that officials of the Commission in the state monitored the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), held at the Lushville Hotel and Suite.
Onuoha disclosed this on Monday in Benin, during his maiden parley with journalists.
Recall that two parallel primaries were conducted by the party, with Hon. Dennis Idahosa emerging winner of the result announced by the chairman of the election committee and governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodimma, at Protea Hotel, while Senator Monday Okpepholo emerged winner of the result collated by the returning officer of the election, Stanley Ugbuaja, at Lushville Hotel and Suite.
When asked which of the two parallel primaries conducted by the two factions of the party was monitored by INEC, Onuoha said he monitored the one the Commission was invited to.
According to him, “The Supreme Court has taken decision on the monitoring of party primaries, that party primaries are primary duties of the parties.
“Our own is to supervise and in doing such supervision, the party will tell us the venue. It is not the state chapter of the party that will tell us the venue.
“The national body will write to INEC national chairman of the venue, and the date and the time of the primary, and that we have followed strictly.
“Any political party primaries that was not minuted to us by our headquarters, we will not monitor.
“We were notified by APC and we monitored the one we were invited us at Lushville Hotel. I was there, that was where I went,” he said. PM News
