As the senatorial primary election of the All Progressives Congress has been concluded in Ondo State, an aspirant of the party in Ondo North Senatorial District, Mr Alex Ajipe, has kicked against the outcome of the exercise.
In the results of the Ondo North, released by the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Iboroma Harry Dabib on Tuesday night, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Gbenga Elegbeleye, won the poll with 28,062 votes while the incumbent senator, Olajide Ipinsagba, scored 9,819 votes. Ajipe Alex secured 17,313 votes, Adeogun Adejoro polled 3,845 votes, Tunji Muhammed secured 1,076 votes, while Michael Adeyanju recorded 640 votes..
Speaking with our correspondent in Emu Ile, Owo Local Government Area of the state, on Wednesday, Ajipe, who is the convener of Ajipe Democratic Movement, alleged that the election in four out of six local governments of the district was not held in line with the party’s directive.
He described the outcome of the process of the exercise as an assault on democracy, saying the electoral officers disappeared while the results were being collected.
Ajipe said, “What happened in the four Akoko LGAs during the primary was not an election. It was an allocation of votes in broad daylight. In Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West, and Akoko South East, collation and returning officers deceived APC members into writing results on plain sheets of paper with the promise of transferring them to the official result sheets at the LG collation centre. After collecting the papers, the officers disappeared.
“They never showed up at the LG collation centres, nor at the statutory senatorial headquarters collation point in Owo. Different versions of the results then flooded social media, followed by the charade declaration of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye online. A fair assessment of events before the disruption shows that I was leading in Akoko South East.
“Before these standings could be formally collated, the returning and collation officers disappeared and voting ended abruptly. No materials, no accreditation, no voting, no proper collation. This is an assault on democracy and a direct insult to APC members who turned out in good faith. We condemn these undemocratic tendencies. The entire process was hijacked and handed over to the governor’s political associates and his anointed aspirant.”
The aggrieved aspirant, who had filed an appeal to the election appeal committee, urged the national leadership of the APC to investigate the election and conduct a rerun of the primary election in the senatorial district.
The latest protest comes amid growing controversies surrounding the conduct of APC National Assembly primaries in Ondo State.
On Sunday, suspected political thugs reportedly disrupted the announcement of House of Representatives primary results at the APC secretariat in Akure, forcing party officials, journalists and members to flee the venue temporarily.
Despite the disruption, the party maintained that the exercises were conducted in line with the Electoral Act and APC guidelines.
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