The Ondo State branch of the All Progressives Congress has asked all the candidates who did not win the ticket in the governorship primary on April 20 to work together with the winner of the election in order to win the governorship poll on November 16.
The APC's state Publicity Secretary, Mr Alex Kalejaiye, said this on Wednesday in Akure, the state capital, in response to a statement from one of the disappointed candidates, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who called the governorship primary fraudulent.
Kalejaiye maintained that the primary overseen by Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, was trustworthy and that all the candidates should acknowledge the outcome of the exercise.
He remarked, “I am surprised that a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would outrightly label the governorship primary election conducted by men of integrity in our party as a fraud.
“The election committee led by Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo did a praiseworthy job. It was expected that all the candidates would recognize the commitment and dedication put in by the committee, accept the result of the exercise, and start planning for November in the party's best interest.
“I am confident that the senator, who comes from Okitipupa where the primary was held twice, must have been misquoted. He has benefited from the party and would do everything possible to prioritize the party's interests over personal gains. The party urges all candidates, including the distinguished senator, to accept the decision of the Ododo-led committee and the highly regarded appeal committee, and make their structures available for the party ahead of November.”
The PUNCH reported that Ibrahim, at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, described the primary as the largest electoral fraud in Nigeria that should not be allowed to stand in the interest of internal party democracy.
The senator representing Ondo South pointed out that the alleged fraud was well documented in reports from the Independent National Electoral Commission, which indicates that an election did not take place in 159 out of 203 wards and 15 out of 18 local government councils in the state.
He also revealed that the alleged manipulations were so egregious that despite being a candidate in the election, he was unable to vote. This led him to contact the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahii Ganduje, who then sent some electoral officers to his house for him to cast his vote. According to him, his house is not an official polling unit or center for the election, so he declined the offer from the electoral officers.
He stated, “Since my house is not a designated polling unit or center for the election, I turned down the offer of the electoral officers.”
The senator mentioned that he had taken legal action against the primary in the interest of democracy in Ondo State, explaining that the lawsuit was filed within the time frame specified by the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and would be pursued up to the Supreme Court.
“Two clear prayers are being sought in the court as far as the alleged fraud in the Ondo APC gubernatorial primary election is concerned. The two requests are for the cancellation of the disreputable activity carried out on Saturday, April 20, 2024, and for the exclusion of the APC from the ballot in the November 2024 gubernatorial election in Ondo State,” Ibrahim stated.
