The Edo South senatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo South Senatorial District has descended into a leadership dispute following two conflicting result declarations, with both major camps claiming victory for different candidates and escalating uncertainty over the true outcome.
Two separate collation processes produced sharply divergent figures for the same contest involving Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and Senator Neda Imasuen, raising questions about procedural authority and final certification.
In the first declaration, issued by a faction of the electoral committee led by Kabiru Ajana at Urhokpota Hall, Benin City, Ogbeide-Ihama was returned winner after polling 27,154 votes. In that tally, Senator Imasuen scored 13,580 votes, while Ize-Iyamu recorded 6,785 votes across the seven local government areas.
However, a separate returning officer, Muhammadu Kabiru, announced a contrasting result set that placed Ize-Iyamu in the lead with 33,399 votes. In the same declaration, Ogbeide-Ihama polled 12,560 votes, while Senator Imasuen secured 5,107 votes.
The emergence of two official-looking results has effectively created a parallel mandate claim, with both camps insisting their figures reflect the authentic outcome of the ward-level voting exercise.
Voting across the 77 wards was generally described as orderly, though incidents of tension and minor skirmishes were reported in parts of Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, and Uhunmwode local government areas, where rival supporters clashed over control of the process and collation procedures.
At the centre of the dispute is not only the numerical outcome but also the authority of the respective collation frameworks, with each side relying on different interpretations of procedure, venue legitimacy, and returning officer mandate. One faction anchored its declaration on results collated at the designated centre in Benin City, while the other relied on aggregated ward-level returns presented outside the hall process.
The conflicting outcomes now place the responsibility for resolution squarely on the APC National Working Committee (NWC), which is expected to review the competing submissions, verify procedural compliance, and issue a definitive position.
Beyond the immediate contest, the dispute underscores recurring tensions in intra-party primaries where parallel structures, competing claims of legitimacy, and disagreements over collation authority frequently test party dispute-resolution mechanisms.
How the APC leadership resolves the Edo South impasse will likely shape not only the senatorial ticket outcome but also broader perceptions of internal cohesion ahead of future electoral contests in the state.
