In Bayelsa East, Murray-Bruce was declared winner after polling 138 votes to beat Mr. Anthony Ikoli (SAN), who came a distant second with 11 votes. Benue Senate President, David Mark, was returned unopposed after his only challenger, Mike Onoja, stepped down. Mark polled 384 votes. Nine votes were declared invalid. Onoja, withdrew from the race shortly before voting commenced. He said his decision was in the “interest and unity of the Idoma nation.” Mark, was quoted as saying “Whatever makes for the peace, unity and overall development of the Idoma nation would be my guiding principle. We can work together for the common good of Idoma nation because we want to be exemplary. This is not about me but the interest of Idoma people. “PDP will work hard and win elections in a free, fair and transparent system. We are on the ground enough to win our elections creditably. Cross River Senate Leader, Ndoma-Egba(SAN) failed to secure his fourth term bid following his defeat by the member representing Obubra/Etung constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. John Owan- Enoh. Owan-Enoh polled 217 votes to defeat Ndoma- Egba and Ambassador Mark Egbe, who secured 37 and 20 votes respectively. The atmosphere was tense at the Ikom Local Government Area secretariat where security personnel almost outnumbered the delegates. Dressed in white attire, Ndoma-Egba left the scene of the exercise at 3.40pm after casting his vote. At about 5.45pm the returning officer, Mr. Uko Enaku, pronounced Owan-Enoh the winner. Reacting to his victory, Owan-Enoh said the outcome was an indication that the people of the district needed a change in their representation. Enugu Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, was returned unopposed in Enugu-West. This followed the withdrawal of Governor Sullivan Chime from the race. Ekweremadu received 294 votes out of the 299 cast. The remaining five votes were rendered invalid as a result of irregularities. Ekweremadu said, “I want to dedicate this victory to Governor Chime – he equally made personal sacrifices to pave way for the peace we have today.” The story was however different in Enugu North and Enugu West Senatorial districts where parallel primaries were held. Three separate primaries were held in Enugu East which produced three candidates. They are incumbent senator, Gil Nnaji; a former Chief of Staff to the governor, . Ifeoma Nwobodo; and a former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke Jnr. The primary election which produced Nwobodo held amid tight security at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, while the primaries that were won by Nnaji and Nweke took place at Nkwo Nike, and Ozalla, respectively. There were also unconfirmed reports that the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Nwabueze Okoye, emerged from another primary election in the senatorial zone. A similar scenario played out in Enugu North. Three aspirants, including the former Commissioner for Transport, Chuka Utazi, and a former National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, contested in separate primaries. Plateau Governor Jonah Jang and incumbent Senator Joshua Dariye won Plateau North and central districts. Jang had 273 votes while Ibrahim Kasai had 18. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Olivia Dazyem, was the returning officer in the election conducted under tight security. Nasarawa The serving senator representing Nasarawa South senatorial district , Suleiman Adokwe, won his bid to fly the party’s flag. Adokwe defeated Bala Zakari by scoring 163 votes.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:47:07 +0000