TELL Magazine

… I did not bring my church members to vote – Azena

The governorship primary election of the Edo State chapter of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, held last Friday in Benin City, is generating bad blood as the first runner-up in the election, Peter Okoeguale, has rejected the outcome of the exercise which produced Pastor Azemhe Azena of the Omega Fire Ministry, Ikpoba Hill, Benin, as the party’ governorship candidate.

At a press conference at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Centre, Okoeguale, faulted the conduct of the election, accusing the clergyman of manipulating the process.

Calling for outright cancellation of the election or he be declared winner, Okoeguale claimed that the delegates from his Edo South Senatorial District were disenfranchised because they would have voted for him. He also alleged that Pastor Azena replaced the names of the original delegates with his church members.

Azemhe polled a total of 211 votes against Okoeguale’s 100 votes, while Sebastian Iyere scored 25 votes, and Balogun Engealeyeme Sunday, 17 votes.

Recall that Pastor Azena had dumped the Labour Party, LP, to pitch his political tent with the NNPP over alleged ill-treatment against him and his supporters by the Akoko-Edo Local Government chairman of the party during his campaign team’s visit to the area.

But pooh-poohing the outcome of the NNPP primary election, Okoeguale said “I was surprised because the Committee that was invited from Abuja to oversee the exercise gave me their words that they were going to ensure that the chairmen of the Local Government Councils were the ones that will identify their members. But the exercise was going fine until when they said that it is going to amount to over-voting;

“I was very surprised. I asked what is over-voting when we are sure of our members from ward to ward, and from local government to local government. They started from Edo North; but when they got to Edo Central, I was surprised that they were reducing my votes. I got them on camera.

“At a time, the chairman of the committee tried to stop the exercise; the light was going off and on because they were trying to do some manipulations. I was already leading because the number of delegates were supposed to be 560; but at the end of the day, only 360 delegates voted.

“The names of other delegates were not on the list. I want to say that I am aggrieved now. It is either they declare me winner or they should cancel the results from Edo South and have a re-run”.

But debunking Okoeguale’s allegations, the pastor-turned-politician said he was not the person sent from the national to conduct the election in Benin City. According to him, “The Committee they sent to come and conduct the election had a list sent to them from Abuja and it was like a judgement day. Whosoever’s name that was not found in the book of life, was not allowed to vote.

“Funny enough, he said I brought my church people to come and vote. If I had done that, I would have given him gap. And a gap that he would not have recovered from. Why? Ikpoba Okha is where my church is. The names of my people were not part of the list from Abuja.

“I never had a list from Ikpoba Okha. I bought 500 delegates forms and none of their names came out. In Egor, none of my list came out from the list they brought from Abuja. In Oredo, only three persons were my delegates from the list they brought from Abuja”.

Reacting to the allegation by Okoeguale that his delegates from Edo South were disenfranchised, Pastor Azena claimed “Most of those from Edo South were not around; when they called their names, they would not be around. So that is what happened. When the names are called, you will not see their names in the register”.

Follow Us on Social Media

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•