Ododo, who was appointed by the national leadership of the party to head the election committee in the state, revealed in a statement late Saturday that “election will be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government with total validated registered members of 9,515” due to “validated reports that the exercise did not hold” in the LG.
The statement read, “Having received reports of the primary election from the 203 Wards in the 18 Local Governments of Ondo State, the Primary election Committee has decided that election will be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government with total validated registered members of 9,515 because of validated reports that the exercise did not hold in the Local government due to late arrival of materials and personnel as a result of logistics challenges.
“Election in Okitipupa Local Government shall be conducted 12 noon on Sunday, April 21, 2024.
“The final collation of the results will be done thereafter.”
The election was slated to be held across the 203 wards and 18 LGs of the state, and no fewer than 16 aspirants participated in the exercise.
They include the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Olusola Oke, SAN; Wale Akinterinwa; Diran Iyantan; Dayo Faduyile; Gbenga Edema; Jimi Odimayo and Jimoh Ibrahim.
Others are Olamide Ohunyeye, Ife Oyedele, Soji Ehinlawo, Funmilayo Waheed-Adekojo, Morayo Lebi and Funke Omogoroe.
However, the APC primary election in the state has faced some backlash with some aspirants condemning the conduct of the election, while others remained satisfied.
After being counted in the voting exercise at Ugbo Ward 4, Obenla, Ilaje LG, the governor expressed his commitment to upholding the principles of transparency and fairness in the party’s selection of candidates, saying, “With the reports I got from other local governments, the primary has been peaceful and I am impressed with the turnout of our people for the exercise here at home and other places. It was a successful one.”
But for some other aspirants, the Usman Ododo-led committee has been incompetent in the assignment.
Ododo, who had arrived in the state on Saturday morning, while addressing some of the aggrieved stakeholders at the distribution centre in the Ijapo area of Akure, the state capital, said, “There was no issue, I just came this (Saturday) morning and I was told that the election materials have been taken to Ondo South and Ondo North Senatorial Districts.”
One of the party’s governorship aspirants, Edema, condemned the electoral process, lamenting that the returning officers and electoral officers of his ward – Mahin Ward 2 in Ilaje LG, have been unable to collect electoral materials.
Edema said, “I have been here since 6.30 a.m. and I didn’t see any material taken out of this place. The returning officers and electoral officers of my ward, Mahin Ward 2 in Ilaje Local Government are here and unable to collect any materials.
“What we are asking for is a credible election. So, we are asking the leadership of the party to look into this. If they’re not ready for this election, they should postpone it and the right thing should be done.”
In a separate reaction, Mr. Rotimi Ogunleye, the media aide to Oke, challenged the committee to follow the due process, saying, “Why can’t they follow the due process? The national leadership of the party should call Ododo to order, they should follow the guidelines they released.
“We got here around 6:30 am, we don’t know when and where the election materials were sent out from this place to Ondo South and North senatorial districts, the truth of the matter is that there were no materials sent out.”
The Programme Officer of the Wale Akinterinwa Campaign Organisation, Sola Arowosafe, said, “The leadership of the party should do the needful by sending another neutral person, just like they did in Edo State to come and conduct another primary election where the good people of Ondo State will freely exercise their franchise to pick their candidate.”
Meanwhile, in a separate report, violence broke out at Ward 1 at the Stella Maris College, Okitipupa, between rival supporters of two APC aspirants who are contesting to be the party’s candidate for the November 16 governorship election.
Accredited party members, who had gathered in large numbers to participate in the candidate selection process, fled the scene when violence erupted among the rival factions.
In another development, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, was allegedly beaten to the point of unconsciousness during the governorship primary on Saturday.
The incident reportedly happened at Ugbo Ward 3 in Ilaje LG of the state.
The medical doctor, who was recently appointed as a commissioner by the state governor, was allegedly attacked by members of his party.
