Julius Ihonvbere, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, has lost the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Owan Federal Constituency in Edo State.

The APC conducted the primary election on Saturday, with five aspirants contesting for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Announcing the result at the party’s secretariat in Afuze, the presiding officer, Kelvin Muhammed, declared Andrew Ijegbai winner of the exercise after securing the highest number of votes.

According to the official results, Ijegbai polled 3,695 votes to defeat Ihonvbere, who scored 1,005 votes.

Other aspirants in the contest included Abdul Oroh, who garnered 1,740 votes; Folly, who scored 505 votes; and Scot, who received 642 votes.

Muhammed said a total of 7,587 votes were cast during the primary election.

The outcome means Ihonvbere has failed in his attempt to secure the APC ticket for a third consecutive term in the House of Representatives.

Ijegbai, a former commissioner for mining in Edo State, will now fly the APC flag for the Owan Federal Constituency in the next general election.