Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Sunday, emerged winner of the governorship primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state held between Saturday and Sunday. It was yet again an electoral exercise that failed to meet the expectations of majority of the aspirants and supporters, and this has become evident in the light of the protests and petitions that followed the conduct and outcome of the exercise.
Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi State and chairman of the seven-member committee set up by the national leadership of the party to supervise the exercise to elect a flagbearer for the November 16 poll in Ondo, announced the winner of the election around 12:43am on Monday, in Akure, the state capital. But it was greeted by a flood of complaints.
The announcement came hours after Ododo ordered a rerun election in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government with total validated registered members of 9,515 because of 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.
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Ododo said Aiyedatiwa polled 48, 569 votes to defeat 15 other aspirants in the contest. The result shows that Aiyedatiwa won in 16 out of the 18 council areas in the state while Oke won in only Ilaje local government but came third after polling a total of 14,915 votes in the election.
A former member of the House of Representatives, Mayowa Akinfolarin, came second with a total of 15,343 votes, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim polled 9,456 while the former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinterinwa, polled 1,952 votes.
Ododo, while charging the aspirants to set aside their differences and unite behind the candidate, expressed appreciation to all the aspirants who participated in the election.
He said: “Our dedication to the service of Ondo State and commitment to serving the people on 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 to 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.”
Meanwhile, the announcement came amid controversy and protests by some aspirants who called for the cancellation of the exercise over alleged irregularities and the replacement of Usman Ododo as the chairman of the committee.
Aiyedatiwa and the other 15 aspirants contested the governorship election through a direct primary election.
They include former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Akinterinwa; Olusola Oke (SAN); former member of the House of Representatives, Mayowa Akinfolarin; Senator Jimoh Ibrahim; former National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Isaacs Kekemeke, and former Commissioner who represented the State on the governing board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Gbenga Edema.
Others are Gen. Ohunyeye Olamide Felix, a member of the House of Representatives, Jimi Odimayo, Olusoji Adewale Ehinlanwo, Morayo Lebi, Diran Iyantan, Prof. Francis Faduyile and Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele while the two female aspirants among them are Funmilayo Adekojo, and Mrs. Funke Omogoroye Judith.
On December 27, 2023, Lucky Aiyedatiwa was sworn in as governor of Ondo State following the death of his principal and former governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who died in Germany after a protracted illness.
The 16 APC aspirants competed for a total of 171, 922 votes.
ALLEGATIONS OF NON-COMPLIANCE
Earlier, on Sunday, scores of members of the APC in the state took to the streets of Akure to protest the conduct of the primary. The protesters alleged that the primary election committee, led by Governor Ododo, did not follow the party’s guidelines.
The protesters, who also stormed the state secretariat of the APC in Akure, expressed displeasure over the conduct of the governorship primary in the state. They were said to be supporters of some governorship aspirants who participated in the primary and lost out.
They were armed 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.
Speaking for the protesters, the Director General of Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, Ondo Central Senatorial District, Adeniran Oyebade, said the people of the state would not allow their mandate to be stolen
Oyebade 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.”
Calling for the disbandment of the Primary Election Committee of the APC in the state, Oyebade said the committee had caused more division in the party 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
In the same vein, three aspirants in the election, Wale Akinterinwa, and one of the two female aspirants, Mrs 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 8am 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.”
In the same vein, the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Ojo Oyewamide, on Sunday, said the primary was a mockery of democracy.
“We insist that what happene 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.
“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.
But the victorious Governor Aiyedatiwa called for reconciliation with aggrieved contestants to ensure victory at the polls.
Ayedatiwa, in his acceptance speech said the internally orchestrated heavy politics within the party, while in search of flag-bearer in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state, had come to a conclusion with the emergence of a candidate as declared by the Governorship Primary Election Committee under the chairmanship of Governor Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi state.
He said: “Let me at this time acknowledge and thank all the aspirants who threw their hats into the ring in the family contest to be the flag-bearer: Hon. Mayowa Akinfolarin, Chief Olusola Oke, SAN, Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, Hon. Isaac D. Kekemeke, Hon. Gbenga Edema, Mr. Ohunyeye Olamide Felix, Hon. Olujimi Odimayo, Mr. Olusoji Ehinlanwo, Morayo Lebi Esq, Prince Diran Iyantan, Prof. Francis Faduyile, Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele, Mrs. Funmilayo Waheed Adekojo and Engr. Funke Omogoroye.
“Your participation has created so much awareness within and outside our party. You mobilised our members and removed apathy. You have also brought in numerous new members into the party. All of these have enriched our democracy and strengthened our party in the state.
“Democracy sometimes, after a contest like this, comes with discordant tunes. But this is not the time to hold grudges against anyone but for all of us to come together to work for the success of our great party so as to remain in power. We will all gain in this party, though at different times, if we keep faith. I salute your courage and keen interest to lead the state towards development. It is your right and you are qualified and worthy members of our party.
“I want to specially thank the president and leader of our party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his leadership. I thank the vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, the national chairman of our party, Alhaji Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, the Progressive Governors, National and State Working Committees of our party and all stakeholders in the state for their forthrightness in the processes leading to my emergence as the flag-bearer for our party in the Ondo 2024 governorship election.
Governor Ododo, in a statement, he personally signed and made available to Journalists on Sunday morning, said having received reports of the primary election from the 203 Wards in the 18 Local Governments of Ondo State, the Primary election Committee had decided that election would be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government having a total validated registered members of 9,515.
However, protesters who occupied the popular Oba-Adesida/Oyemekun road, prevented vehicular movement for two hours.
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The aggrieved protesters alleged that the Governor Ododo led- electoral committee concocted the results of the primary even when no election took place across the 203 Wards in the state.
The protesters who first converged on the party’s state secretariat along Oyemekun Road at about 4:30pm, took to the streets protesting the alleged forged figures put together by Governor Ododo and his team, calling for the cancellation of the alleged “kangaroo primary”.
AIYEDATIWA’S CALL FOR UNITY
Nevertheless, Governor Aiyedatiwa urged party leaders to unite and put the party in order ahead of the governorship election scheduled for November.
The governor stated this when paid a ‘Thank You’ visit to the state secretariat of the party in Akure, the state capital. Accompanied by some party leaders and a crowd of jubilant supporters, the governor received cheers from residents as his motorcade made its way to the party office.
He was received by members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party led by the state chairman, Engr. Ade Adetimehin, who said the visit was a sign of unity within the party.
Addressing the gathering, Aiyedatiwa thanked the leadership of the party for providing an enabling environment for the conduct of a free and fair primary election that produced him as a candidate.
He said: “The primary election has come and gone; all aspirants are winners. It was a family affair of a contest and we are all members of the same family. We now need to put our house for the battle ahead.”
The Governor also thanked all members of the various committees from the National Secretariat that conducted the election, as well as members of the party for their participation in the primary.
But Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim, and Engr. Folakemi Omogoroye, both of who lost in the primary election joined three others to petition the national secretariat of the party over the outcome of the election.
Recall that the trio of former Finance Commissioner, Wale Akinterinwa, a serving House of Representatives member, Hon. Jimi Odimayo and Barrister Gbenga Edema, had on Monday petitioned the party over the outcome of the exercise.
The aspirants kicked against the process of the exercise, noting that the whole process was marred with irregularities and fell short of appreciable standards.
They described the process as an anticlimax, a mockery of democracy, and a complete negation of every known democratic tenet.
Omogoroye called for the cancellation of the election and urged the appeal committee to order a fresh election, while insisting that the whole process was compromised.
A chieftain of the APC, Bamidele Oloyeloogun, said the party would lose the forthcoming governorship election if Saturday’s primary was not cancelled.
Oloyeloogun stated this at a press conference in Akure on Tuesday.
Oloyeloogun described the conduct of the primary as a “fraud” against the party and its members in the state.
He said: “As a leader in APC in Ondo State, l want to warn that if the purported April 20 primary is not cancelled, APC will lose the Nov. 16 governorship election.
“It is on record including that of the Independent National Electoral Commission, that there was no ward out of the 203 wards in the state that election was held, they just manufactured figures.
“The evidence is that, today our members are not jubilating because the process that led to the announcement and declaration of the winner was a fraud perpetrated against them.
“Today in Ondo State, APC members have their placard in their heart and they will display it during the Nov. 16 governorship election no matter the level of intimidation.
“As someone who had contested election four times and won, I know the implications of the charade called primary on Saturday.
“Those who came to Ondo State to perpetrate this evil called primary against our members should be held accountable when the chips are down and the seed germinates in November.”
Oloyeloogun, a former speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to salvage the party by ensuring the cancellation of the primary election.
PDP’s EXCITED SHOTS
The Peoples Democratic Party in the state has ridiculed the ruling APC over the conduct of Saturday’s primary election, describing it as “a huge charade and a mockery of democracy in every sense of the word.”
A statement issued in Akure by the state Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, said that exercise was “an anticlimax and a mockery of democracy.”
Peretei said: “If the APC cannot conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible primary election for 171,922 of their members, they should perish the idea of presiding over the affairs of Ondo State beyond the eight years in which they have practically stagnated the State.
He continued: “The over-hyped All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Primary Election in Ondo State turned out to be a huge charade and a mockery of democracy in every sense of the word.
“The National headquarters of the party raked in a handsome sum of N830m from unsuspecting aspirants who took photographs with their Nomination Forms in Abuja with their supporters.
” Little did they know that, the exercise would be an anticlimax and their aspirations to occupy the number one seat in the State completely eclipsed and all the efforts headed for the dustbin.
“The signs that all would not be well emerged 48 hours before the primary when five of the aspirants petitioned the APC National Headquarters about irregularities on the accredited members for the primary.
“Four years ago, former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) for N85 billion fraud, presided over a similar event in Akure, where none of the aspirants, sighted the delegates list before the primary.
“As at the morning of the election, it was not clear whether it was going to be Direct or Indirect primary.
“That was the exercise that produced former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu as candidate of the APC for 2020 Governorship election.
“This time, Gov Ahmed Usman Ododo, Bello’s successor in office has wrecked more havoc than his boss.
“Journalists who tried to monitor the primary were shocked that in almost all the centres that elections were supposed to hold, there were no election materials, neither were there officials to conduct the exercise. The Akure City Hall, one of the supposed centres, was empty as at 1.00pm. Instead, there were reported cases of violence in Akure South and Okitipupa Local Government Areas, where political thugs had a field day.
“In one of the videos that was seen online to create impression that the exercise held, the returning officer counted to 400 and jumped to 560. Some of the aspirants have since called for the cancellation of the exercise.
“It is a shame that the APC cannot bring only one of their sixteen aspirants to square up with other political parties in the general election through a process that is above board. That alone, is an affirmation that, the party should be consigned to dustbin of history, where it rightfully belongs.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State Chapter, will once again demonstrate its superior organizational sagacity and democratic credentials this week, through a Governorship Primary Election that will be covered live by media houses and Non-Governmental Organizations in the full glare of the world.”
As party leaders wade into the disputes that have broken out in the party over the conduct of the election, it is uncertain to what extent they would be able to reconcile the dissatisfied aspirants and their supporters ahead of the governorship poll in November but it is easy to guess that the party would lose much of its cohesiveness to the advantage of the major opposition, the PDP, and possibly other parties.