Protests have rocked Ondo State, as Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Sunday, emerged the winner of the governorship primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the State.
Recall that the 16 APC aspirants competed for a total of 171, 922 votes.
They include senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim; Olusola Oke, former President of Nigerian Medical Association, Francis Faduyile, a mechanical engineer, Dr Funmilayo Waheed-Adekojo and the National Vice Chairman of the APC (South West), Isaac Kekemeke.
Others are Dr Soji Ehinlanwo, Akinfolarin Samuel, Okunjimi Odimayo, Adewale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Edema and Brig. Gen. Ohunyeye Olamide (retd), Morayo Lebi, Oladiran Iyatan and Engnr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele.
Earlier on Sunday, scores of members of the APC in the state took to the streets of Akure, the state capital to protest against the conduct of the poll.
The protesters alleged that the primary election committee led by Kogi Governor, Usman Ododo did not follow the party’s guidelines.
Having stormed the state secretariat of the APC in Akure, they expressed displeasure over the conduct with placards with various inscriptions such as “No election in Ondo”; “APC primary electoral officers failed to show up in all wards in Ondo State,’ ‘We demand fairness and justice in APC primary election in Ondo’’; ‘No mandate for Aiyedatiwa, We’re calling for fresh primary election”; ‘NWC of APC No Mandate for Aiyedatiwa”; “Saturday ‘s APC primary in Ondo was a sham”, among others.
Recall that the Director General of Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, Adeniran Oyebade, had on Saturday said the people of the state would not allow their mandate to be stolen
Oyebade had said, “We are protesting against our mandate that was stolen. It was a daylight robbery, a monumental disaster. The APC delegated some people to Ondo State to conduct the primary, apparently, that was never done. They remained in Akure and started writing results.”
However, in a latest statement issued by its spokesman, Ojo Oyewamide, on Sunday, said the primary was a mockery of democracy.
“We insist that what happened in Ondo State yesterday (Saturday) was a disheartening mockery of democracy. As a result, our party has become a butt of jokes in the hands of the opposition parties and the people of the state.
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“We would like to categorically state that the Kogi Governor cannot impose a candidate on our party members, through a shambolic exercise. It is unacceptable to us, “ the statement read.
Calling for the disbandment of the Primary Election Committee of the APC in the State.
“Election crime is a serious crime. You cannot come to the wards of our people and start terrorising them against their will. What we want is the cancellation of the election because the election did not take place,” he declared
Similarly, three aspirants in the election, Wale Akinterinwa, and one of the two female aspirants, Folakemi Omogoroye, condemned the process of the election on Sunday, demanding the cancellation of the whole exercise.
The Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation’s spokesman, Mr Segun Ajiboye, described the exercise as a show of shame, saying the Ododo-led committee did not do well in the conduct of the shadow poll.
He said, “Without any fear of contradiction, we state here that no election was held in any part of Ondo State on Saturday to elect the candidate of the APC. It is on record with incontrovertible evidence that nothing in the semblance of a primary election was held in all the 203 wards in Ondo State. At best, what can be said to have happened was that the committee chairman, Governor Ododo, arrived in the state at about 8 am on Saturday to write the result of an election that was never conducted.
“Saturday’s election presented our dear party with a rare opportunity to endear itself to the people of the state. All that was needed was for us to organise an election that would be hailed by all, even the opposition. But we bungled the opportunity with the sham organised by the electoral committee.
“The people have eyes and they can see. But on Saturday, they did not see any part of the state where electoral committee members counted the votes as expected. Rather, what they witnessed was a crowd of our enthusiastic supporters who stood in the sun for several hours waiting for the elusive electoral officers to turn up. But we dashed their hopes and expectations of a robust democratic engagement.”
