May 16, (THEWILL) — The political atmosphere in Edo State came alive on Saturday as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) trooped out across the eighteen local government areas for the party’s House of Representatives primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The exercise, which attracted party faithful, delegates, and political stakeholders from across the state, was marked by intense contests and notable upsets as several influential aspirants battled for the party’s tickets to represent their constituencies at the National Assembly.
Among the biggest outcomes of the primaries was the defeat of the incumbent Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, representing Owan Federal Constituency.
Ihonvbere lost his re-election bid to Hon. Andrew Ijegbai, a former Edo State Commissioner for Mining, during the APC House of Representatives primary held in Afuze.
The results were announced by the APC Returning Officer for the constituency, Kelvin Muhammed, at the party secretariat.
Ijegbai polled 3,695 votes to emerge as the winner of the contest, effectively ending the return bid of the ranking federal lawmaker ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Political observers and party supporters attributed the outcome largely to the long-standing zoning arrangement within Owan Federal Constituency, which many stakeholders insisted should determine the rotation of political offices in the area.
The development was seen as a significant shift in the political structure of the constituency and one of the most closely watched contests in the Edo APC primaries.
Similarly, Hon. Eseosa Iyawe, representing Oredo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, also failed in his bid to secure the APC ticket for another term.
He was defeated by Dr. Paddy Iyamu, the immediate past Edo State Commissioner for Education, who secured 7,088 votes to emerge the winner of the primary election.
Across several federal constituencies in the state, delegates gathered at designated voting centres under the supervision of party officials as the APC conducted the primaries amid heightened political interest.
From Owan to Oredo, Etsako, Egor, and other parts of the state, supporters of various aspirants mobilised heavily for the exercise, which party leaders described as a critical step in consolidating internal democracy and strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 polls.
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