A senatorial aspirant seeking the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Ondo North Senatorial District, Alex Ajipe, has rejected the outcome of the senate primaries held on Monday in the state. The aspirant, who is the convener of the Ajipe Democratic Movement (ADM), demanded that the exercise should be reconducted for the sake of fairness, alleging manipulation as well as abandonment of electoral procedures, particularly in the four local council areas of the Akoko axis.
Allegations of Manipulation
While speaking with newsmen during a press briefing, Ajipe rejected the purported declaration of Gbenga Elegbeleye as the winner of the primaries in the district. At the APC State Secretariat in Akure, the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee had, on Tuesday night, announced the Ondo North Senatorial District primary election results, with Gbenga Elegbeleye polling 28,062 votes to emerge as the winner. Ajipe Alex secured 17,313 votes, while the incumbent senator, Olajide Ipinsagba, recorded 9,819 votes. Adeogun Adejoro polled 3,845 votes; Abdul TUNJI Muhammed secured 1,076 votes; and Michael Adeyanju recorded 640 votes.
The aspirant, who described the exercise as a charade and an assault on internal democracy, stated that what transpired in Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West, and Akoko South East local government areas was a premeditated allocation of votes. He disclosed that returning officers promised to transfer results written on plain sheets of paper to official result sheets at local government collation centers, but after collecting the papers, the officers never returned.
Details of the Alleged Irregularities
“What happened in the 4 Akoko LGAs was not an election. It was allocation of votes in broad daylight. In Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West, and Akoko South East, collation and returning officers deceived APC members to write results on plain sheets of paper with the promise of transferring them to the official result sheets at the LG collation center. After collecting the papers, the officers disappeared. They never showed up at the LG collation centers or at the statutory senatorial headquarters collation point in Owo. Different versions of results then flooded social media, followed by the charade declaration of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye online.
“A fair assessment of events before the disruption shows that I was leading in Akoko South East; Hon. Ade Adeogun was clearly leading in Akoko South West; Hon. Jide Ipinsagba was leading in Akoko North West, followed by Engr. Mike Adeyanju and myself; and in Akoko North East, Hon. Jide Ipinsagba and Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye were head-to-head, followed by Chief Abdul. Before these standings could be formally collated, the returning and collation officers disappeared, and voting ended abruptly. No materials, no accreditation, no voting, no proper collation. This is an assault on democracy and a direct insult to APC members who turned out in good faith.
Condemnation of Governor’s Role
“We condemn the governor’s undemocratic tendencies. The entire process was hijacked and handed over to the governor’s political associates and his anointed aspirant. The Primary Committee and its technical team appointed by the APC National Secretariat were supposed to divide themselves and supervise the three senatorial districts for effective supervision and monitoring. Instead, the committee split into two factions, one headed by the chairman and another by the secretary, abandoned its responsibility, and ceded everything to the governor’s camp. When the party’s own panel is fractured and compromised, what hope is there for fairness?
Appreciation for Minister of Interior
“We appreciate the Hon. Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. We acknowledge and thank the Hon. Minister of Interior for his stand during the process to ensure peace and fairness, even when we least expected it. His intervention helped calm tensions and reminded us that there are still leaders within the party who value justice over imposition.
Warning for 2027 Elections
“The party risks repeating history. In 2015, with no APC governor in Ondo, we won the presidential election overwhelmingly. In 2019, with an APC governor, we lost. If this injustice stands, Mr. President may become the biggest victim again in 2027.”
