Mr O’Tega Emerhor, has defeated a human rights lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, at the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for the forthcoming by-election into the Delta Central Senatorial Seat held on Wednesday.
Emerhor polled 1,674 votes to defeat Keyamo, who had 36 votes in spite of boycotting the exercise earlier.
Keyamo, who came into the election venue in Ughelli at 3.00 p.m., alleged that the voters registration held on Tuesday in the Delta hotel in Sapele was marred by violence.
He said that his opponent Mr O’Tega Emerhor, hired thugs to steal election materials and disappeared.
Keyamo said that there was no registration of voters in Sapele, Ughelli South, Ughelli North and Ethiope-West.
“The thugs of my opponent came to hijack materials and went to unknown destination.
“It is concocted and designed to rig the process. I will not allow this brand of politics in my state. I am going to fight for other people who want to join the party.
“We must not encourage this type of violence and rigging.
“I am carrying my protest to the national body of APC that this type of politics must not continue in Delta.
“The election is fraud, I am not participating in this kind of election process and as far as I am concern APC has no candidate in Delta,’’ Keyamo said.
Reacting, Sen. Osita Izunaso, the National Organising Secretary of APC said that in line with the 2010 Electoral Act as amended and the APC’s constitution, the primaries would hold.
“If there are three, four or five aspirants and all of them withdrew, and it remains just one, we must still conduct the primaries and declare that person the winner.
“If you don’t do that you negate the whole essence of the exercise,’’ he said.
Supporters of Keyamo gathered around the Ughelli Kingdom Hall, venue of the exercise chanting anti-party slogan with placards in their hands.
Some of the supporters carried placards with the inscriptions, “Keyamo is our candidate’’, “we no dey vote’’.
It took the effort of the security operatives to disperse the thick cloud with gun shots.
This was contrary to what happened on Tuesday at the same venue when the Democratic Peoples’ Party held its primaries won by Mr Ede Dafinone.
The outcome indicates that Emerhor, Ede Dafinone of DPP and Mr Emannuel Aguariavwodo of PDP will slug it out at the forthcoming bye-election into the Delta Central Senatorial seat in October.
The senatorial seat was vacated by late Pius Ewherido, who died on June 30.
