Blessing Agbebaku, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, has been elected as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Owan West Constituency in the State House of Assembly ahead of the 2027 general election.
DAILY POST reports that his deputy, Hon. Atu Osamwonyi, was not as lucky as he lost the chance of clinching the party’s ticket.
Atu was defeated by Ndidi Aghimien as the party’s candidate for Orhionmwon Constituency I.
Ndidi scored 2,777 votes, Atu polled 9 votes, Terry Igiebor secured 87 votes, while Nosakhare Eguagie got 57 votes.
Meanwhile, Speaker Agbebaku, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in January 2025, polled a total of 2,846 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr. Atafo Gold, who scored 60 votes.
Other aspirants, including Mr. Ohioma George, got 31 votes, while Frank Ilaboya, a former chairman of Owan West Local Government Council, and Mrs. Juliana Ikharo garnered zero votes respectively.
Hon. Maria Edeko, the former Deputy Speaker under the PDP-dominated House, also clinched the APC ticket to recontest for the Esan North-East II election.
Edeko, like Blessing Agbebaku, defected to the APC from the PDP and scored 1,549 votes to emerge as the party’s candidate.
The former Minority Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Eric Okaka, under the APC minority, polled 4,213 votes to clinch the Owan East Constituency ticket.
He defeated Hon. Kayode Jeffrey, who got 46 votes, while Agbonkhan polled 47 votes.
In Etsako Central Constituency, Hon. Ahmed Waziri Oshomah got 3,304 votes to secure the party’s return ticket after defeating other aspirants, including Kenneth John, who scored 34 votes; Hon. Emma Momoh, 39 votes; Abdullahi Kassim Usman, 37 votes; Christopher Osi, 2 votes; and Mathew Aliu, who polled zero votes.
In Orhionmwon Constituency II, the incumbent lawmaker representing the constituency, Hon. Iyamu Bright, failed to clinch the party ticket.
Iyamu was defeated by Odiase Etinosa Endurance.
Victor Giwa was elected as the candidate for Esan South-East Constituency after defeating the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Sunday Ojiezele.
Hon. Kaycee Osamwonyi was returned as the party’s candidate for Uhunmwode Constituency.
In Oredo East, Hon. Edwin Osamuede defeated Hon. Frank Omosigho to emerge as the party’s flagbearer.
Omosigho defected to the APC from the PDP in 2025, while his Oredo West counterpart, Dr. Richard Edosa, was elected as the candidate.
Edosa, the only member elected on the platform of the Labour Party, also defected to the APC in 2025.
In Etsako East Constituency, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Imafidor defeated the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Kingsley Ugabi, to clinch the ticket.
In addition, Hon. Jonathan Ibhamawu, the Majority Leader of the House, and Hon. Abdulganiyu Akokhia were also elected as candidates for Esan West and Etsako West II constituencies respectively.
Others elected are Hon. Fada Eigbiremonlen for Esan Central, Hon. Andrew Uzamere for Ovia North-East II, and Hon. Donald Okogbe for Akoko-Edo II. The trio are among the PDP decampees.
Ms. Jennifer Iyamu clinched the Egor Constituency ticket.
