Group Demands Cancellation Of Ondo APC Primary

By Chinelo Obogo

Leaders in Ondo State under the umbrella of ‘Moments of Truth’, have called for the cancellation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ondo gubernatorial primary held on Saturday, April 20th in which the governor of the state, Lucky Ayedatiwa, was declared winner.

In a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, the group led by a senior lawyer, Dr Benson Enikuomehin, said they have evidence to prove that no election took place on the said date, describing the entire process as an unacceptable charade.

He said the electoral committee led by the Kogi governor, Usman Ododo, merely allocated votes to the governor and some aspirants despite the fact that there is no evidence that the Ondo governor voted.

“On Friday, the secretary of the electoral committee, Ovie Omo Agege, asked all the governorship aspirants to meet with him and he informed them that the election materials would be delivered at a particular hotel the next day by 7 am. By 6 am on Saturday, the day of the primary, the agents were already there and up till 9.30 am, no one was saying anything to anyone and even the chairman of the committee, Usman Ododo was nowhere to be seen. By 11.50 am, people became restive and we later learned that the electoral officers were He later came very late and when he did, he said the election materials were distributed as early as 6.30 am and they were sent to the different wards. We then asked him where and when the materials were distributed.

“We maintain that no election took place and I challenge anyone to show me a single piece of paper of the result sheet. I am from the same constituency as the governor and I can tell you for a fact that the governor did not vote because the primary election did not take place. If the governor claims he voted, he should provide video evidence of where he did. If the election did not hold, then where did the results that were declared come from? What happened on Saturday was a charade and is unacceptable. They just allocated votes to themselves. How can you do that and expect everyone to just accept it?

“We are calling on our President, Bola Tinubu, to direct that the shame of an election be cancelled and a new one be conducted. If a free and fair primary is conducted and is clear to all, then we will congratulate the winner. Ondo is very important to the President and we are confident that he would take the right decision,” Enikuomehin said.