TWIST IN IMO PDP GUBER PRIMARIES AS IHEDIOHA, ARARAUME CLAIM VICTORY

Hon. Emeka Ihedioha

There was controversy in the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary election yesterday as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, and the former member representing Okigwe Senatorial District, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume  are laying claims to the victory.
The exercise which lasted up to Tuesday morning, had Ihedioha declared the winner by the chairman of the Imo State PDP Governorship Primaries Committee, Hon. Tengu Tsegba, with 346 votes against Araraume and Chief Ikedi Ohakim who scored 336

Senator Araraume

and 213 votes respectively
However, Senator Araraume alleged that there was a mistake in the result released by the Electoral Committee in the computation of the results of the election and called for its immediate correction.

He equally demanded that he be declared the winner of the governorship primaries.
In a petition sent to the Chairman of the Imo State PDP Governorship Primaries Committee, Hon. Tengu Tsegba, Araraume claimed he actually won the governorship primaries and not Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, as announced by the Electoral Committee.
According to Araraume, he polled 336 votes while Ihedioha garnered 325 votes and not 346 votes ascribed to him (Ihedioha) by the Electoral Committee.
Araraume also stated in his petition that the Committee declared more votes than the total number of registered voters (delegates). 
He said while the Committee declared 1, 017 as the total number of votes cast, it actually returned 1, 027 as total number of
votes obtained by all the aspirants.
The difference, he said, was awarded to Ihedioha. He called on the
Committee to declare him winner since, according to him, he scored the
highest number of votes in the Governorship primaries.
The scores of the other 27 governorship aspirants in the election held at the Grasshoppers Handball Stadium in Owerri included: Senator Bright Nwanne scored 46 votes, Humphrey Anumudu 20, Bethel Amadi 15, Senator Chris Anyanwu 10, Prof. Jude Njoku 8 and Ken Njemanze 7 while Emma Ojinere and Ken Ojiri got four votes apiece.
The rest of the aspirants either got zero or one votes.