Content area
Full Text
Dramatic upsets and a gale of parallel elections rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries held yesterday to elect candidates to contest for countrywide senatorial seats in the 2015 elections.
Parallel primaries were held in different locations in Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Enugu states.
Also, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) and Uche Chukwumerije, both three-term senators, led the pack of high profile incumbents that lost out in the primaries. In another, Aloysius Akpan Etok lost his bid to return to the Senate after his dramatic last minute withdrawal to pave the way for Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio. Another senator losing out is Nenadi Usman who also lost her seat to represent Kaduna South in the Senate.
However, it was a sweeter tale for other Senate bigwigs: Senate President David Mark, his deputy Ike Ekweremmadu and deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi all won their respective primaries.
As expected, all PDP governors eyeing Senate seats won at yesterday's primaries. They are: Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Jonah Jang (Plateau).
Recall that the governors of Delta and Enugu states, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Sullivan Chime, dropped their bids to come to the Senate in 2015.
ENUGU
The deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu yesterday emerged the PDP candidate for Enugu West senatorial district for the 2015 election.
He was returned unopposed after polling a total of 294 out of the 299 votes cast by the accredited delegates.
Ekweremadu became PDP's sole aspirant after the state governor, Sullivan Chime, withdrew from the race. In his acceptance speech, the deputy Senate president dedicated the victory to Governor Chime, describing his victory as an act of God.
Meanwhile, three parallel primaries were yesterday held in Enugu East senatorial district.
While Gilbert Nnaji, the senator currently representing Enugu East, emerged victorious in the primary conducted at Nkwo Nike in Enugu East local government area, the former chief of staff, Enugu Government House, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, emerged victorious in the primary election held at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.
Former minister of information Mr Frank Nweke jnr emerged victorious in another primary conducted at a different location in the state.
The result of the primary held to elect the senatorial candidate in Enugu North was still...