The All Progressives Congress Primary Election Appeal Committee for Ondo State said on Monday that it had received three petitions challenging the victory of Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in the governorship primary conducted on Saturday through to Sunday.
The Chairman of the Primary Election Appeal Committee, Mr Muhammed Abubakar, disclosed this during a press briefing in Akure on Monday.
Abubakar, who is the immediate-past governor of Bauchi State, said the three petitions were received from Wale Akinterinwa, Jimi Odimayo and Gbenda Edema.
The Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who is the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, had in the early hours of Monday, declared Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the Ondo APC primary election.
Ododo announced that Aiyedatiwa polled 48,460 votes across 18 local government areas of the state to defeat the 15 other aspirants.
But ahead of the declaration, many of the aspirants had expressed dissatisfaction with the process, calling for its cancellation.
Speaking on Monday at the APC secretariat in Akure, the Chairman of the Primary Election Appeal Committee said the development was not strange, hence, the party always has an appeal committee to look into complaints emanating from primaries.
Abubakar said, “The situation I met on the ground was an inconclusive election that needed to be repeated in one local government. They were able to repeat the election in that local government and by early this (Monday) morning, they were able to declare the results of the primary.
“It is traditional in the APC to set up a committee like this in order to follow up on the fallout of the primary election. It is as a result of this that I invited the gentlemen of the press to be here today so that I can announce to them, the presence of this committee and the readiness of this committee to receive whatever complaints as a fallout from the primary election.”
Abubakar said the committee would look thoroughly into the three petitions from the aggrieved aspirants.
“I can assure you that within a space of a few days, we will consider the total number of petitions we received and render a report to the national headquarters of our party before the party takes a final decision on the issue of the primary. As I’m speaking with you, only three petitions have been received,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders, particularly the 15 other aspirants, who participated in the primary.
In his acceptance speech made available on Monday, the governor called on his co-contestants to support him to win the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
He said, “Let me at this time acknowledge and thank all the aspirants who threw their hats into the ring in the family contest to be the flag-bearer. Your participation has created so much awareness within and outside our party. You mobilised our members and removed apathy. You have also brought in numerous new members to the party. All of these have enriched our democracy and strengthened our party in the state.”
Calling for their support, Aiyedatiwa said he aimed to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, fair justice, qualitative education and security.
