Chukwumerije loses to Ohuabunwa

Senator Uche Chukwumerije has lost his primary election in Abia north and the PDP ticket to Mao Ohuabunwa, a former member of the house of representatives.

In the primary election on Sunday, Theodore Orji, the governor of the state, won the ticket for Abia central while Enyinnaya Abaribe, the chairman of senate committee on information, also picked the ticket for Abia south for a possible third term in the senate.

IN BENUE, Senate President David Mark, Gov. Gabriel Suswam and Mike Mku picked the PDP’s ticket to contest the 2015 general elections in their respective senatorial zones in Benue.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who covered the primaries for Benue South Senatorial District, reported that the election was held at the Otukpo local government secretariat.

Announcing the results on Sunday in Otukpo, the Returning Officer for the election, Mr John Akume, said Mark scored 384 votes to pick the party’s ticket while his only rival, Mr Mike Onoja, withdrew from the race hours to its commencement.

Mark had represented the zone, comprising Otukpo, Okpokwu, Ado, Ogbadibo, Agatu, Oju, Obi, Ohimini and Apa local government councils at the senate for 16 years.

At the Akume Atongo stadium, where the primaries for the Benue North East Senatorial seat held, Gov Gabriel Suswam polled 312 votes to emerge the winner.

Incumbent Sen. Barnabas Gemade, had withdrawn from the race a week earlier.

The returning officer for the election, Sen. Godwin Okpeh, therefore, declared him winner.

In a post election speech, Suswam thanked the people of the zone for their support during his tenure as governor and for nominating him as their flag bearer for the 2015 general elections.

At the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi, the returning officer for the Benue North West Senatorial District, Mr Bob Nenge, said Mike Mku polled 168 votes to beat three others.

The others were former Speaker, Benue House of Assembly, Mr Terseer Tsumba, Mr Laha Dzever and Mr Sam Bula.

According to the results, Tsumba scored 56 votes, Bula got 3 votes while Dzever scored 101 votes.

Speaking to newsmen after the contest, Mku commended the electoral panel for conducting a free and fair election and promised to work hard to ensure victory for the party in 2015.

He appealed to the losers to join him for the overall victory of the party at the general elections.

Mku is set to face Sen. George Akume, who is a consensus aspirant on the platform of the APC at the 2015 general elections.