The All Progressives Congress’s Ondo state governorship primaries on Saturday have been met with criticism, as two aspirants, Wale Akinterinwa and Olusola Oke, have publicly condemned the election process on Sunday.
Governor Usman Ododo, head of the party’s organising committee, announced on Sunday that the primaries held in 18 local government areas were inconclusive, leaving the outcome uncertain.
Saturday’s primaries were marred by controversy, prompting some aspirants to call for the exercise to be cancelled due to perceived flaws in the process.
Ododo-Led Committee Faulted for Poor Conduct: The Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation, in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Segun Ajiboye, described the primaries as a “show of shame”, expressing disappointment in the committee’s management of the process.
The statement read, ” Without any fear of contradiction, we state here that no election was held in any part of Ondo State on Saturday to elect the candidate of the APC.
“It is on record with incontrovertible evidence that nothing in the semblance of a primary election was held in all the 203 wards in Ondo State.
“At best, what can be said to have happened was that the committee chairman, Governor Ododo, arrived in the state at about 8am on Saturday to write the result of an election that was never conducted.
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“Saturday’s election presented our dear party with a rare opportunity to endear itself to the people of the state. All that was needed was for us to organise an election that would be hailed by all, even the opposition. But we bungled the opportunity with the sham organised by the electoral committee.
“The people have eyes, and they can see. But on Saturday, they did not see any part of the state where electoral committee members counted the votes as expected. Rather, what they witnessed was a crowd of our enthusiastic supporters who stood in the sun for several hours waiting for the elusive electoral officers to turn up. But we dashed their hopes and expectations of a robust democratic engagement.”
In the same vein, the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Mr Ojo Oyewamide, on Sunday , said the primary was a mockery of democracy.
“We insist that what happened in Ondo State yesterday (Saturday ) was a disheartening mockery of democracy. As a result, our party has become a boot of jokes in the hands of the opposition parties and the people of the state.
“We will like to categorically state that the Kogi Governor cannot impose a candidate on our party members through a shambolic exercise. It is unacceptable to us, ” the statement read.
Committee to Declare Primary Winner Today: The people of the state are anxiously waiting for the committee to announce the winner of the primary election, with the results expected to be made public today.