Anxiety is mounting in Ondo APC following the reports of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on the party’s primary election in the state.
DAILY GIST recalls that Aiyedatiwa was declared winner of the election by his Kogi counterpart, Usman Ododo who was the Chairman of Ondo Primary Election Committee.
The governor polled 48,569 votes to defeat 15 others in the exercise.
However, in the report submitted by some of the officials of the electoral body, who monitored the shadow election in the 203 political wards of the state, there were alleged cases of irregularities in some parts, citing failures such as non-arrival of electoral materials and lack of proper
collation of results.
INEC officials said the APC governorship primary did not hold in their presence due to the unavailability of election materials and organising committee.
In the Certified True Copy (CTC) submitted to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, over 10 of the INEC electoral officers in the 18 local council areas revealed that polls did not take place in their respective locations.
The report partly reads: “The All Progressives Congress Primary was scheduled to hold in Ifedore Local Government Area on April 20, 2024.
Members of staff were sent from the INEC Office to monitor the primary in each of the 10 wards of the local government area as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022. There was no agenda provided for the primary in all 10 wards.
“In the 10 wards of the local government area, the All Progressives Party Electoral Committee required to conduct the primary was not available to conduct the exercise.
In all 10 wards, the aspirants agents displayed the posters of their preferred aspirants, and the party members on the ground in those wards queued behind those agents, showing their support.
“The party members acted violently against the INEC officials in Letters I and II. More so, party members were demanding the INEC officials conduct the primary election for them.
“The election of All Progressives Congress Governorship Primary was not held in person due to the unavailability of the election materials to be used and the absence of the electoral organising committee in all 10 registration areas until the monitoring team left late in the evening.”
Concerning Ilaje Local Government Area, the report states: “In compliance with the directive of the Commission and as part of INEC’s statutory function to monitor and report political parties primaries elections, members of staff were deployed to the 12 RA’s that made up the LGA to monitor the primaries at the 12 designated centres across the local government.
“The scheduled primary election was to elect the candidate who will fly the flag of the All Progressive Congress as a gubernatorial candidate in the coming governorship election in Ondo State. Copies of the agenda were not provided.
“The party members in the local government all converged at the designated venues to exercise their civic responsibilities. Although INEC monitors were present in all wards for the assignment, the event was characterised by the non-availability of election materials across the 12 RAs in the LGA. Collation did not take place at the local government collation as the centre was under lock and key.
“Lists of contestants for the elections in all wards were not given. In view of the above, elections did not take place in Ilaje LGA, and results were not given to the monitors.”
With the primaries marked by controversies, no fewer than six aspirants who contested the ticket with Aiyedatiwa submitted petitions to the party’s appeal committee, with the resolve to explore the party’s internal mechanisms before proceeding to the law court.
But a statement by the APC spokesman, Alex Kalejaiye, insisted that elections held in all the 18 local government areas of the state.
The party faulted report by officials of the INEC that the party did not hold primary election in Ilaje Local Government Area.
It described the report as ‘shocking and lacking credibility’.
It reads: “There were agitations in Ifedore and Ilaje Local Government Areas, and while all results from Ifedore council were cancelled, only about four wards in Ilaje were affected and cancelled.
“The essence of such cancellations was to emphasise the validity of the entire process, and lend credence to fairness.
The voting strength of our members in the affected areas is not substantial enough to dent the credibility of the process, neither should it affect the margin with which the candidate emerged.
The party therefore doubts the authenticity of the report, credited to an agent of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It cautions against needless desperation of some members who have vowed ‘to do everything possible to discredit the process’.
