Enugu Gov Ugwuanyi Loses Senatorial Seat To Labour Party Candidate Ezea

Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been defeated by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Okey Ezea, in the Enugu North Senatorial zone.

Mr Ezea was on Sunday declared the winner of the Senatorial election held on Saturday, February 25.

According to the result announced by the Returning Officer for the 2023 Enugu North Senatorial District Election, Professor Chukwuemeka Ubaka, at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, on Monday, Ezea polled 104, 492 votes to defeat his closest rival, Governor Ugwuanyi, who scored 46, 948 votes.

The APC candidate, Eze Simon came a distant third with a total of 6,816 votes.

Ugwuanyi was elected governor in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. Prior to becoming governor, he was in the House of Representatives for 12 years where he represented Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency from 2003 to 2015.

Ugwuanyi’s defeat in the election marked the first time an opposition political party would unseat a candidate of the ruling PDP in Enugu state.

PDP has been dominating the state in virtually all positions since 1999.

LP’s Ezea will be succeeding Senator Chukwuka Utazi, the incumbent senator representing the district, who had stepped down for Governor Ugwuanyi, ahead of the PDP primary election for the district in May last year. Senator Utazi will be completing his two terms of eight years on May 29 after succeeding Ayogu Eze in 2015.

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Similarly, Chidi Obetta of LP equally won the House of Representatives election for Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency.

Obetta polled 50, 881 votes to defeat his closest rival, Vitalis Abba, of the PDP.

Also, another  LP House of Representatives candidate for Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon Dennis Agbo, defeated Hon Simon Atigwe of PDP.

Agbo had spent one term of four years on the seat from 2015 to 2019 and was defeated in the PDP primaries for the senatorial district in 2018 by Hon Atigwe.