Benue lawmaker accused of receiving COVID fund kickback loses APC return ticket

Godday Odagboyi, lawmaker representing Apa/Agatu federal constituency, has lost his bid for reelection. 

Odagboyi, who contested for the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket, lost to Adama Adama, a business mogul popularly known as Otalaka.

Announcing the result on Saturday, Franklin Shagbaor, chairman of the electoral committee, said Adama polled 21,747 votes to beat Odagboyi, who scored 3,151 votes.

Odagboyi won the constituency seat on the platform of the Labour Party in 2019, but later defected to the APC in June 2021.

Earlier in the month, residents of the constituency had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged misconduct by Odagboyi.

The lawmaker and some of his aides were alleged to have collected kickback from their constituents who applied to be beneficiaries of the COVID intervention fund.

The residents had asked the agencies to investigate the accused persons over the allegation that they requested beneficiaries to pay before receiving the funds.

Odagboyi’s defeat brings the number of serving lawmakers who lost during the primary elections in Benue to four.

Others who lost at the poll were Mark Gbillah, lawmaker representing Gwer east/Gwer west federal constituency; Francis Agbo, lawmaker representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo federal constituency, and Kpam Sokpo of Buruku federal constituency — all under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).