- Polls 48,569 Votes To Defeat Akinfolarin, Oke, Akinterinwa, Others
- Violence, Protests Mar Election As Other Aspirants Call For Cancellation Of Exercise, Threaten Lawsuit
- Several Aspirants Alleged That No Election Took Place In Most Parts Of The State
Amid protests, violence, the governor of Ondo State Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been declared the winner of the governorship primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the state, held on Saturday and has emerged as the party’s flagbearer in the November 16, 2024 guber election in the state.
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He was declared the winner by the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ahmed Ododo, in the early hours of Monday, who also noted that the electoral process went “smoothly” with little skirmishes recorded.
Aiyedatiwa amassed a total of 48,569 votes in the primaries while fellow contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, polled 15,343 votes, with Olusola Oke coming in third position with 14,865 votes, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim polled 9,456 while the former Commissioner for Finance Wale Akinterinwa polled 1,952 votes.
The Matrix reports that sixteen heavyweights jostled for the party’s ticket for the November poll. They include Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Olusola Oke, Adewale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Edema, Funmi Waheed-Adekojo, Jimoh Ibrahim, Isaac Kekemeke, Francis Faduyile, Soji Ehinlanwo, Akinfolarin Samuel, Okunjimi Odimayo, Ohunyeye Olamide, Morayo Lebi, Garvey Iyanjan, and Ifeoluwa Oyedele.
At the end of the exercise, the Ondo state governor coasted to victory in 16 of the 18 LGA losing out on Ilaje LGA to third-placed Oke.
Incidents of violence marred the election in Ifedore leading to cancellation of results.
Ododo, while charging the aspirants to set aside their differences and unite behind the candidate, appreciated all the aspirants who participated in the election, saying “your dedication to the service of Ondo State and commitment to serving the people under the platform of our great party are truly commendable.
“We are grateful for your courage and determination to be part of this important process. Let us remember that the real work lies ahead of all of us as members of this great party.
“We must follow the words of our leader and president, Bola Tinubu who has maintained that a political contest is a quest to serve, we are brothers and sisters from the same family but living in different rooms and must therefore remain in the same house after the election has been won and lost.
“So, we are all from the same family and as such, we have no need to abandon the party irrespective of the outcome of the election. We must set aside our differences and unite behind our candidate”, he said.
READ ALSO: Amid Protests, Ododo Announces Aiyedatiwa Winner Of Ondo State APC Primary
However, The Matrix gathers that the APC primary election, which started on Saturday, was marred by allegations of irregularities while there were demands for cancellation by the leading contenders.
Several aspirants alleged that no election took place in most parts of the state.
Olusola Oke, Olugbenga Edema, Wale Akinterinwa, Dayo Faduyile and Jimi Odimayo are among the governorship hopefuls who kicked against the conduct of the exercise.
Folakemi Omogoroye, a female governorship hopeful, also described the election as a “complete rape of democracy”.
“I am not going to accept it, and now, I am calling for cancellation and if this is not done, maybe we’ll meet in the court,” Omogoroye said.
Despite the criticism and controversy surrounding the election, the Kogi state governor insisted that the process was transparent.
Earlier, members of the party had staged a protest in Akure on Sunday evening over the conduct of the governorship election.
READ ALSO: Ondo APC Guber Primary: Aiyedatiwa Coasts Home To Victory
They described the process as a daylight robbery and urged the national secretariat of the APC not to allow the state to be embroiled in crisis.
One of the protesters claimed no ward primaries were held, insisting that the guidelines given by the national secretariat of the party were not followed as the committee did not distribute materials to any wards.
The party members warned of likely consequences if an unpopular candidate is imposed on them as it could affect the chances of the party in the governorship election.
Ododo had on Saturday announced that polls would be conducted in all 13 wards of Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state by noon on Sunday.
“Having received reports of the primary election from the 203 wards in the 18 local governments of Ondo State, the primary election committee has decided that election will be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa local government with total validated registered members of 9,515, because of validated reports that the exercise did not hold in the local government due to late arrival of materials and personnel as a result of logistics challenges.
“Election in Okitipupa local government shall be conducted at 12 noon on Sunday 21st April 2024. The final collation of the results will be done thereafter,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, two aspirants and agents of two other contestants raised concerns about the conduct of the primary.
They alleged that based on the conduct of the exercise; plans were made to favour certain aspirants.
Olugbenga Edema, who is one of the 16 aspirants in the race for the APC ticket, decried delays in the distribution of materials and called on the party to investigate the process.
READ ALSO: #KogiDecides2023: Dino about to Vote as EFCC comes.
Rotimi Williams, the agent of Oke, took a similar position.
Shola Ajisafe, the agent of Adewale Akinterinwa, backed the narrative by Edema and Willams.
“My people have been calling me. No material has been distributed to them,” Ajisafe who is from Ondo North said, accusing Governor Ododo of working in favour of a candidate.
