… Wins 16 of 18 councils
… Loses Ilaje LGA to Oke
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has emerged as the winner of the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
Aiyedatiwa emerged with 48,569 votes and was declared the winner of the primary in the early hours of Monday almost 48 hours after the exercise began by the Governor of Kogi State, who doubled as the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, Usman Ododo.
Aiyedatiwa, who emerged as governor following the demise of his boss, late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, defeated 15 other aspirants to clinch the ticket of the party ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.
Ododo, who disclosed that out of the 171,922 total number of voters, 95,178 were accredited, 95,178 votes were cast, and 95,178 valid votes were returned, said, “I declare Lucky Aiyedatiwa returned elected and declared winner of the Ondo APC governorship primary election. The nomination shall be rectified by a special Congress.”
The other 15 aspirants who participated in the primary include Olusoji Ehinlanwo, Jimi Odimayo, Jimoh Ibrahim, and APC National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Isaacs Kekemeke.
Others are Wale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Oedema, Olusola Oke (SAN), Olamide Ohunyeye, Morayo Lebi, Oladiran Iyantan, Prof. Francis Faduyile, Mayowa Akinfolarin, and Ifeoluwa Oyedele, as well as two female aspirants, Funmilayo Adekojo and Funke Omogoroye.
The primary, marked by controversy and tension, saw Aiyedatiwa’s closest contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, secure the second position with 15,343 votes; Olusola Oke finished third with 14,915; and Jimoh Ibrahim scored 9,456 in the fourth position.
However, Aiyedatiwa lost his Ilaje Local Council Area to Oke, who also hailed from the council, by a margin of 26 votes.
The governor did not also win in Ifedore local council, as the party’s returning officer, Oliver Okpala, told the seven-man committee that the sporadic gun shots prevented the shadow election from taking place.
Okpala said that due to the violence, he recorded zero votes for all the aspirants in the local council.
He said: “No election took place in Ifedore. We couldn’t find anybody in any ward. Everybody has taken shelter in their homes. There was violence everywhere. We saw people mobilising. The police were on the ground to give protection.”
Speaking prior to the party’s electoral officers reeling out the results from the 18 council areas, Ododo said, “Let’s remember that the real election lies with all of us as members of this great party, the All Progessives Congress. We must always reflect on the words of our father and leader, President Bola Tinubu, who has maintained that a political contest is a quest to serve by brothers and sisters from the same family but leaving in the same room and must therefore live in the same house after the election has been won and lost.
“In our own room today, we are all in the same room as a family, and as such, we have no need to abandon the party, irrespective of today’s outcome. We must set aside our differences and unite behind our candidate.
“In our unity, we shall continue to find strength, and our victory lies in our solidarity as party men and women.”
Results of the Ondo APC governorship primary election
1: ILAJE LG
Aiyedatiwa 2,485Akinterinwa. 26Oke. 2,511Jimoh Ibrahim, 589
2: Ile Oluji/Okeigbo
Voters: 4309Accredited: 3097Valid: 3097
Jimoh Ibrahim: 282Aiyedatiwa: 1225Wale Akinterinwa: 474
3: Ondo West
Voters: 22122Accredited: 17679Valid: 17679Jimoh Ibrahim: 2668Aiyedatiwa: 10610
4: ESE-ODO LGAiyedatiwa: 298Akinterinwa: 0Olusola Oke: 147Jimoh Ibrahim: 174
5: OWO LG
Aiyedatiwa 2,123Akinterinwa. 345Oke 225Jimoh Ibrahim, 192
6: IDANRE LG
Aiyedatiwa 1, 579Akinterinwa 119Oke 225Jimoh Ibrahim, 120
7: AKOKO NORTH EAST LG
Aiyedatiwa 1, 664Akinterinwa 135Oke 138Jimoh Ibrahim, 505
8: AKOKO NORTH WEST LG
Aiyedatiwa 5, 430Akinterinwa 198Oke 2, 721Jimoh Ibrahim, 728
9: AKOKO SOUTH EAST LG
Aiyedatiwa 2, 533Akinterinwa 43Oke 391Jimoh Ibrahim, 67
10: AKOKO SOUTH WEST LG
Aiyedatiwa 2, 747Akinterinwa 272Oke 415Jimoh Ibrahim, 466
11: NO RESULT FOR IFEDORE LGA.
All aspirants scored zero, according to the returning officer, due to an alleged shooting.
12: OSE LG
Aiyedatiwa 1, 091Akinterinwa 39Oke 800Jimoh Ibrahim, 267
13: IRELE LG
Aiyedatiwa 1, 203Akinterinwa 15Oke 93Jimoh Ibrahim, 139
14: ODIGBO LG
Aiyedatiwa 2, 631Akinterinwa 114Oke 138Jimoh Ibrahim, 845
15: AKURE NORTH LG
Aiyedatiwa 2, 860Akinterinwa 177Oke 1, 239Jimoh Ibrahim, 1, 606
16: AKURE SOUTH LGAiyedatiwa 3, 265Akinterinwa 86Oke 328Jimoh Ibrahim, 294
17 OKITIPUPA LG
Aiyedatiwa 1, 622Akinterinwa 27Oke 1, 571Jimoh Ibrahim, 109
18: ONDO EAST LG
Aiyedatiwa 4, 803Akinterinwa 141Oke 1, 171Jimoh Ibrahim, 406
