Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has emerged as the candidate for Ebonyi South Senatorial District Candidate under the All Progressives Congress.

Mr Umahi was given a return certificate at Afikpo North Local Government Area Headquarters on Thursday night, The Sun reported.

The governor’s younger brother Austine Umahi had won the ticket in a primary election on May 28, 2022, at Afikpo North Local Government Area Headquarters.

The Sun cited an official as saying there was no rescheduled primary and the Umahis returned to the same centre where the initial primary took place to make a mutual substitution of names in line with electoral regulations.

David Umahi and others were defeated at the APC presidential primary by Bola Tinubu on June 8. He scored 38 to Mr Tinubu’s 1, 271.

The Umahis affair came days after Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed picked the governorship form of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party after losing at the party’s presidential primary, which was won by Atiku Abubakar.

Earlier on Friday, reports emerged that former Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio had also picked a senatorial ticket of the APC, two days after losing also to Mr Tinubu in the same presidential primary of June 8. He collected the senatorial ticket from an ally in a similar placeholder arrangement as with Messrs Umahi, Mohammed and other politicians.

Despite ethical questions, politicians who have eyes on two offices simultaneously have continued to use their family members or friends to contest and win one primary for a lesser office on their behalf in case they fail to clinch the bigger office they contested themselves.