Aspirants expressed vehement disapproval of the proceedings and walked out in protest at the meeting led by the Chairman of the APC NWC, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje that was convened to address concerns from the recently concluded primaries in Ondo State. However, tensions flared as aspirants raised objections to the transparency and fairness of the process.
In a scathing rebuke of the Ganduje-led NWC, aspirants accused the committee of bias and manipulation, asserting that the integrity of the primary election process had been compromised, citing irregularities and alleged favoritism, aspirants voiced their dissatisfaction with the handling of the primaries, emphasizing the need for a level playing at the a meeting summoned by the National Chairman of the ruling APC, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at Party’s National Secretariat where other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) were present, prominent aspirants from the state staged a walk out after hours of meeting that went deadlocked.
Dr. Ganduje, the Party’s National Chairman had summoned all aspirants, including the incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa who was declared winner of the poll, which many observers had described as not only shambolic but also a charade that was antithetical to every democratic ethos and progressive ideals. Other 15 aspirants who were at the meeting included the legal icon and grassroots political juggernaut, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), Sen. (Dr.) Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa, the former Commissioner for Finance in the State, Chief Olugbenga Edema, the State’s representative on the board of NDDC and Mrs. Funke Omogoroye Judith. Others include Gen. Ohunyeye Olamide Felix; a current member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Jimi Odimayo; Olusoji Adewale Ehinlanwo; Morayo Lebi; Diran Iyantan; Prof. Francis Faduyile and Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele.
At the meeting, all aspirants present were unanimous in their position that there was no election held in any part of the State. Instead, what was witnessed was intimidation, harassment, attacks on party faithful who had come out in their numbers to exercise their franchise. According to the aspirants, a popular aspirant needed not use the instrumentality of office to hound, harass, intimidate and/or bamboozle party members to vote for them. Sadly, that was exactly what transpired in the entire Ondo State over the weekend.
The aspirants were of the opinion that what the Kogi State Governor, H.E Ahmed Usman Ododo, came to do was to perfect a hatchet plot of some vested interest with the allocation of cooked up results announced by the Election Committee. To them, there was no way anyone could have built something on nothing. The results of an election with no materials deployed and no accreditation of voters could not have been said to represent democracy.
In the end, the meeting came to a deadlock with no agreement reached. However, one of the leading aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN) advised the party and its leadership to re-conduct fresh primaries, or the party would have to face litigation as other aspirants would be left with no choice other than to seek for a redress in the law court.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has a big hurdle to cross, especially as Ondo State, unlike any other state is unique when it comes to politicking. The continuous hold on to power at the Alagbaka Government House largely depends on how the Ganduje-led National Working Committee (NWC) resolves the impasse caused by the sham of an election held over the weekend. More so that the party has only few hours to beat the deadline as stipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines.
