As controversy continues to trail the outcome of the Ondo State governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), two more aspirants who lost in the last Saturday primary for the gubernatorial election in the state have petitioned against the process.
The two aspirants, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim and Engr. Folakemi Omogoroye, have kicked against the process, noting that the just-concluded governorship primary was marred by irregularities and fell short of appreciable standards.
According to Ibrahim and Omogoroye, the process was an anticlimax, a mockery of democracy, and a complete negation of every known democratic tenet.
While Omogoroye is calling for the cancellation of last Saturday’s election, urging the Committee chairman to order a fresh election as the whole process was compromised.
She stated in her petition, “I am urging you to cancel the election and order a fresh election in which all the laid-down guidelines for a credible election will be followed, and a level playing ground will be assured and ensured for all players in the election. Anything short of this is an open endorsement of the robbery of Saturday by the leadership of our party.”
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In his petition, Ibrahim hinged his appeal for the cancellation of the election on four grounds, which include non-compliance with the rules, non-provision of electoral materials, non-accreditation of agents, and gross misconduct.
Ibrahim’s petition read: “This is an appeal to your committee to cancel the Primary election held in Ondo state on 20th April 2024, on the grounds that there was no election in the 203 wards and this is evidenced from the many petitions before your committee as captured on the ground below.
“Ground one: non-compliance with your rules. I paid the sum of N100m for the validation of over 40 thousand party members, and those members were not allowed to be revalidated across Ondo State, this was because no voter’s register was made available in the wards to which members could be validated.
“On ground two, on provision of electoral materials. No electoral materials were provided for the conduct of the election; the local government electoral officials were kept in the hotel during the period of the election for several hours, and only result sheets were given to them. The ward electoral officers were provided by one of the aspirants, Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa.
“Ground three: over non-accreditation of agents. My agents were not accredited in all the wards, and they did not sign election result sheets since none was made available to them.
“The fourth ground is on gross misconduct. I received in my house in the village, Igbotako at 7pm on the day of the election, the local government returning officer and members of his committee. They informed me that they are in my house to capture my vote but I sent them away since my house is not a polling venue. The returning officer said he was instructed from above.
“Based on the four grounds stated above, the election should be canceled and re-conducted immediately.”
It will be recalled that three aggrieved aspirants, who include Gbenga Edema, Jimi Odimayo, and Wale Akinterinwa, on Monday submitted their petition against the last Saturday APC governorship election in the state.
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