• Election may be declared inconclusive
From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Aggrieved chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State have called for the cancellation of the governorship primary election which its result is yet to be announced barely two days after the conduct.
The party has not declared the results of the governorship primary which was conducted on Saturday but there are indications that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa may win the election.
The protesters who stormed the APC secretariat in Akure, the state capital included supporters of Chief Olusola Oke, Wale Akinterinwa, Jimi Odimayo, and those of a female aspirant, Mrs Folakemi Omogoroye
The protesters also demanded for a fresh primary election.
Armed with placards of 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 a fresh primary election, ” “NWC of APC No Mandate for Aiyedatiwa,” “Saturday’s APC primary in Ondo was a sham,” “APC Must Not Collapse In Ondo State,” “Primary Election materials were not distributed in all wards across Eighteen LGAs in Ondo State,” among others.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Director General of the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation in Ondo central senatorial district, Adeniran Oyebade said there was no election and anything short of fresh election would amount to a travesty of justice.
Oyebade said what happened on Saturday was a broad daylight robbery, a monumental disaster and perversion of democratic norms that the progressive party was known for.
“APC delegated some people to Ondo State to conduct the primary; apparently, that was never done. They remained in Akure and started writing results. They wrote the results of 203 wards all across Ondo State, taking the mandate of the people into their own hands.
“At the end of the day, we started seeing different results flying around stating one particular candidate won the election, but that never happened.
“APC as a party is about to set Ondo State on fire and we will never take this lightly. We want the most popular candidate, a candidate who knows the people; we want the candidate whose name is a household brand in every part of Ondo State. We do not want an unpopular or controversial candidate; we don’t want a wife-bitter. We want someone with a sound mind.
“Governor Ododo should be suspended from the party. Ododo is a criminal and a thief. In a saner clime, Ododo by now should be in jail. Election crime is a serious crime. You cannot come to the wards of our people and start terrorizing them against their will.
“What we want is the cancellation of the election because any election did not take place. There is no need to say that the election was inconclusive,” he added.
However, it was rumoured that the election has been declared inconclusive by the primary election committee of the party led by Governor Ododo.
