Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, has said he would do everything possible to achieve true reconciliation among contestants for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the next governorship election in the state.
Wada said this following his victory at the governorship primary held at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, the state capital, on Monday night.
The governor had won the primary after scoring 709 votes to defeat Jubrin Isah, known as Echocho, who scored 139 votes, while the third aspirant, Moses Amoto, had no vote.
Speaking after he was declared the winner of the primary, Wada said he would immediately commence the process of reconciling with other aspirants with the aim of working together in the general election.
He, however, appealed to the aspirants and other stakeholders in the party to join him in order to ensure that the party is victorious in the election.
He said: “I want to appeal to the people, particularly those that we contested together, to join hands with me for our party to win the next election so that we can continue with the transformation programme we have embarked upon in the state.
“Now that the contestmis over, I will do all I can for us to reconcile and work together as a team because this is the only way through which we can record success in the election.”
The governor, however, pledged to carry along every stakeholder of the party, soliciting their support and assistance towards the election.
However, the main rival of the governor in the contest, Isah, midway to the announcement of the result of the primary, conceded defeat and embraced Wada.
The results, which were announced on local government by local government basis, saw Echocho standing up to embrace the governor when results from 15 out of the 21 local government areas in the state had been announced with Wada leading with over 500 votes.
Speaking before leaving the stadium midway into the announcement of the results, Echocho said the exercise was a clear battle, adding that it was well fought and won.
He said: “This is a clear battle that was well fought by brothers, the governor has clearly won, I will work with him. He is my brother and I will remain in PDP to nurture it to victory.”
The chairman of the Electoral Committee that conducted the election, who is also the governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwayi, lauded the delegates for their conduct throughout the process.
