The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared the Ondo State governorship primary election inconclusive. Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, who chaired the committee that organized the election, announced this in a statement.
According to Ododo, polls will be conducted in all 13 wards of Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state by 12 noon on Sunday. This decision was made due to logistics challenges that resulted in the late arrival of materials and personnel, causing the exercise to not hold in the local government.
The election was contested by 16 governorship aspirants, including the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. However, four of the aspirants – Wale Akinterinwa, Olusola Oke, Olugbenga Edema, and Dayo Faduyile – kicked against the exercise, accusing Ododo’s committee of perpetrating fraud and demanding the cancellation of the primary.
Despite the assurance of a credible and transparent election by the seven-man committee headed by Ododo, the aggrieved aspirants alleged that the committee refused to send materials meant for the primary to some wards, shielding the exercise to favor an unnamed aspirant.
The final collation of the results will be done after the election in Okitipupa local government. The national leadership of the party, chaired by Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had declared a “direct mode” as the option for electing the governorship flag-bearer in the state.