Delta PDP: Ibori’s daughter defeats Okowa’s associate to clinch house of reps ticket

Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of James Ibori, former governor of Delta, has defeated Ben Igbakpa, incumbent lawmaker representing Ethiope federal constituency of the state.

Ibori-Suenu polled 46 votes to defeat Igbakpa, who scored 22 votes at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rerun primary for Ethiope federal constituency.

The rerun took place on Tuesday at the Oghara township stadium in Delta.

The duo had earlier polled 34 votes each to set the stage for the rerun.

Ibori-Suenu is the lawmaker currently representing Ethiope west constituency in the Delta state house of assembly, while Igbakpa is an associate of Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta.

Speaking on the development, Igbakpa, in a series of tweets, said the outcome of the election is not what the people of Ethiope federal constituency wanted, adding that people are the losers of the primary.

“I have lost my re-election bid. Being the representative of my people at @HouseNGR is one of the greatest honours of my life,” he wrote.

“This journey that has seen us break barriers will come to an end in 2023. Until then, I will be full of dignity and gratitude for the opportunity.

“This is not the outcome we wanted. It is not the outcome the people of Ethiope Federal Constituency wanted.

“The cheers on Sunday, May 22, 2022, demonstrated that but it does not satisfy the appetite of a few to revise our progress and blur the vision of our people.”

I feel proud of what we have built together in 3 years. We have touched the vast expanse of Ethiope Federal Constituency and given our people a loud voice. We have energized our resolve in this instance and vow to continue in the same spirit for progress and unity.

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— Hon. Ben Igbakpa (@benigbakpa) May 24, 2022

I represent a place, where the majority are good and recognize competence. They invested their hopes and expected quality representation. The public opinion is that we delivered and realized the dreams of most people. All of these have been painfully stolen by the establishment.

— Hon. Ben Igbakpa (@benigbakpa) May 24, 2022

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On her part, Ibori-Suenu, in a Facebook post, appreciated the people of Ethiope federal constituency for the support.

“I sincerely want to thank the great people of Ethiope Federal Constituency. It was tensed but the will of the people prevailed. This victory is dedicated to all our constituents,” she said.