The leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress has declared Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the party’s governorship primary election in Ondo State.
The incumbent governor’s victory was affirmed after he was said to have scored a total of 48,569 votes in the primaries.
His closest challenger, Mayowa Akinfolarin, polled 15,343 votes while Olusola Oke came third with 14,865 votes.
Ahmed Ododo, Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State, pronounced Aiyedatiwa as the winner early Monday morning.
“I can confirm that the direct mode of primary election adopted in the 2024 Ondo state governorship primary elections held in all 203 electoral wards in all the 18 LGAs in Ondo state,” Ododo said while announcing the winner in a viral video seen on X.
It was gathered Aiyedatiwa won in 16 of the 18 LGAs losing out in Ilaje LGA to third-placed Oke.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters had reported several incidents of violence that marred the election in Ifedore leading to cancellation of results there.
Some of the stakeholders who participated in the primary election in Ondo State had also cried foul over how the election committee handled the electoral process.
The aggrieved party members alleged that the committee which was headed by Ododo was biased in the assignment.
A female aspirant in the primary election on Sunday called for the cancellation of the poll over alleged irregularities.
Mrs Folakemi Omogoroye made this known in a press statement sent to SaharaReporters on Sunday, alleging that the election did not take place as anticipated on Saturday.
“There was no election anywhere,” she said.
She described what was conducted in the state as a “complete rape of democracy.”
Expressing her dismay, Omogoroye lamented the absence of election officials and voting materials at voting centres, rendering her and her supporters unable to exercise their rights the vote.
The statement said despite her “meticulous preparation and financial commitment to the party, she found herself circumvented to participate in the democratic process”.
It said, “In a bold move, Engr. Omogoroye called upon the party’s leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene and annul the purported election.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave us women a renewed hope agenda that prompted me to go into the race with assurance that the election is going to be free and fair and that was why I went into this contest.
“But to my greatest surprise, the reverse is the case. I was on the field from 7am no election materials, were seen, not to talk of seeing any party officials or INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) officials and a voice came up that Aiyedatiwa has won, Aiyedatiwa has won.
“I don’t know how that happened and I don’t know how party is the going to take that, because I, Engr. Folakemi Omogoroye will not accept that; because I believe in the party, I have been in the party for years, and this is the time we have to make the party better that other parties will emulate, but this is not the case.
“Other parties are now making mockery of our party, all my political followers from all the books and crannies of Ondo state have been calling me that the same thing happened all over.”
She threatened legal action if the election was not cancelled.
