The fierce contest for the Idemili North/South Federal House between the incumbent, Obinna Chidoka of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Ibezi, has ended in a loss for the PDP.

The contest which was originally slated for February 23 was stalled following crisis that erupted in the area.

Subsequently, INEC cancelled the result of the election in 26 polling units at Obosi and 5 at Abatate and ordered a rerun in those units on March 9, 2019

The returning officer, Associate Professor Ike, who announced the result Saturday night at Idemili North Local Government headquarters in Ogidi after the collation of results from the area where the rerun exercise took place declared Ibezi winner of the election with 29,566 votes against Chidoka’s 26,026.

It was gathered that Chidoka lost the election because of love lost between him and the youths of the zone.

A youth who spoke to News Express on the condition of anonymity said that Chidoka abandoned the people that paved the way for his success as soon as he got to the Federal House of Representatives.

He said: “Those of us that worked for him throughout the course of his first election were dumped by him immediately he got to Abuja so we swore to work against him.

“He failed to fulfil his promises. Politicians should learn to remember that the route they used to get to the top, they will come back to it and still meet the people they climbed on their back. That is politics and democracy for you.

“If you do well, your work will speak for you when you come again to ask for votes, people will naturally run with you. People are wiser now. Chidoka did not do anything in this area to deserve a second term.”

One of Ibezi’s supporters and a chieftain of APGA in Nkpor described Ibezi’s victory as well deserving, saying that it is consequent upon hard work.

He said that Ibezi worked very hard and campaigned vigorously in all parts of Idemili North/South before the election.

Efforts to speak to the winner Ibezi failed as his phone line was not reachable at the time of filing this report.

Also crashing out of the election is Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Rita Maduagwu.

The Speaker who is in her second term in the House lost to the PDP candidate who scored 650 against Maduagwu’s 542 votes.

From the votes so far collated, APGA has won the majority seat of 24 seats against PDP’s 6. With the 6 seats, PDP has moved up the lather from 2 seats.

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