Primaries: Anxiety grips Ondo APC over withheld Reps results
Tension has engulfed the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the continued delay of the declaration of results from Saturday’s House of Representatives primaries by the National Assembly Primary Election seven-man committee, headed by Iboroma Harry Dabibi.
According to findings, disagreements among members of the committee stalled the process, amid allegations of external pressure to declare certain aspirants winners, including some earlier disqualified by the party. The development has left aspirants and party faithful in a state of uncertainty well over 24 hours after the exercise was concluded across the state’s 203 wards.
It was gathered that the crisis forced the committee’s secretary, Adamu Mohammed Shamaki, and two other members to return to Abuja, leaving the chairman and remaining members in Akure unable to proceed with the announcement of results. The secretary was said to have protested that the panel does not have the power to announce the list of consensus candidates as desired by the governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, insisting that the panel should rather collate their findings and reports and submit them to the National Working Committee of the party.
Meanwhile, the unexplained silence from the party’s electoral committee has sparked apprehension, with no official announcement of winners for the nine federal constituency tickets contested in the exercise. Compounding the confusion, multiple aspirants have independently laid claim to victory, as well as those disqualified by the party.
The delay has also fuelled suspicions of political maneuvering, particularly following last week’s disqualification of three aspirants who were previously anointed as consensus candidates by Aiyedatiwa. The three aspirants endorsed by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa but subsequently disqualified by the party were Tajudeen Adefisoye (Idanre/Ifedore federal constituency), Victor Ategbole (Akoko South-East/South-West federal constituency), and Samuel Arowele (Owo/Ose federal constituency). The party, in a statement issued at the weekend by national publicity secretary Felix Morka, did not provide any reasons for their disqualification.
Additionally, other aspirants who failed to secure clearance alongside the governor’s preferred candidates include Seun Ajongbolo (Akoko South-East/South-West), Morufu Ibrahim (Akoko North-East/North-West), Oyeniyi Oseni (Akoko North-East/North-West), and Olaleye Adedipe (Akoko North-East/North-West).
Party sources alleged that some political actors, said to be acting on the governor’s instruction, mounted pressure on the committee to declare nine consensus aspirants as winners of the elections. “They attempted to announce three aspirants as winners in their constituencies Hon. Abiola Makinde (Ondo West/Ondo East), Hon. Wunmi Edet (Akure South/Akure North), and Muyiwa Daramola (Okitipupa/Irele).
“They could not proceed further because the committee’s secretary and two other members had left. There is no way such results can be submitted to the National Working Committee (NWC) without the secretary’s signature.
“One question to ask is: what were Arowole and Ategbole doing at the collation center despite their disqualification? They were expecting to be declared winners to create grounds for litigation against the party.”
Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised over the alleged presence of the APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, at the collation center, despite not being a member of the committee. A party member said, “The presence of Dayo Israel is another issue of concern. He is not a member of the committee. What was he doing at the collation center? Whose interest was he representing? Was he also trying to influence the process?”
The sudden return of the secretary and other members to Abuja has further heightened anxiety over the conduct of the party’s senatorial primaries scheduled for tomorrow, as their absence may affect the exercise.
