From Tony Osauzo, Benin
FORMER Majority Leader of Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, yesterday emerged the candidate of the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Edo State September 10 gubernatorial election.
Iduoriyekemwen who became the sole candidate after the second contestant in the primaries, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma stepped down for him, scored 481 votes to become the party’s flag bearer.
Former political Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and Chairman of the Primaries Election Panel, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak who announced the result, said of the 677 accredited delegates, 502 delegates voted.
He said 21 of the votes were invalid while 481 valid votes were cast for Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.
Gulak therefore declared him winner and returned him as the PDP candidate for the Edo gubernatorial election, saying that a certificate of return signed by the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff and the party Secretary, would be issued to Iduoriyekemwen in Abuja.
In his acceptance speech, Iduoriyekemwen said the outcome of the primaries “is the beginning of the real change in Edo State.
He expressed gratitude to the National leadership of the party for coming to conduct the primaries, even as he praised the Modu Sheriff-led Executive for not going the way of lack of internal democracy and impunity, which he said, almost destroyed the PDP.
The governorship candidate who thanked the delegates for not wavering in spite of obstacles, earlier in his speech before voting commenced, said “this is the time when we must come together to build, take Edo to the path of greatness, to elect a candidate with sense of responsibility”.
While saying that it was the responsibility of government to make citizens happy, Iduoriyekemwen said Edo State will become a state of excellence if he was elected, adding that it was time the party elected a governorship candidate that “is a true party man”.
Ahmed Gulak who also addressed the delegates before voting, gave a historical background to Ali Modu Sheriff’s emergence as National Chairman of PDP and said he successfully conducted Ward, local, states and zonal congresses for the party.
He said the law recognizes Modu Sheriff as the authentic Chairman, adding that the candidate that would emerge from the primaries was the authentic governorship candidate of the party.
Factional, Deputy National Chairman of the party, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh in his speech, said for the benefit of Nigeria, the primaries is the only authentic primaries of the party, adding “the only authentic Chairman recognized by law is Ali Modu Sheriff”.
He therefore, pleaded with other members of the party to support him to stop impunity in the party.
Dr. Ojougboh who commended security agents for being stringent by allowing only accredited delegates to the venue, said Modu sheriff’s only.