The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, has been declared winner of a parallel congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Benin City on Thursday morning.
In his submission Bartholomew Moses, the Returning Officer, after the process of the collation of the results, declared that Shaibu won with an overwhelming majority of over 300 votes in the exercise held in a convivial environment.
Earlier before the process some delegates in their large numbers who were barred from participating in the process of accreditation and voting by some officials believed to be acting the script of the state government, which is backing the aspiration of Asue Ighodalo, who is believed to be the anointed son of Governor Godwin Obaseki, had stormed the home of Shaibu to protest what they described as the deliberate ploy to shut him out.
Led by Festus Owu, the protesters appealed to Shaibu to pass their message to the National Headquarters of the PDP that their votes should be of consequence in determining who governs the state starting from November 12th.
They said that failure to make their votes count in the process may lead them to work against the party’s interest in September when the main election is taking place.
Responding to their protest, Shaibu assured them that their votes will count in the primaries and that they should exhibit no fear as their message will be passed to the appropriate quarters. He informed them that their massive support is an indication that he will come out victorious after the primaries exercise and subsequently at the main election in September.
