Less than 24 hours after the declaration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in Ondo State, three of the 15 defeated aspirants have filed a petition against the outcome of the election.
The chairman of the five-member Appeal Committee and former governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, disclosed this during a briefing with journalists in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
Abubakar said the Appeal Committee said petitions were received from Mr Wale Akinterinwa, Gbenga Oedema, and Jimi Odimayo.
According to the committee chairman, the three aggrieved aspirants expressed their displeasure over the conduct of the exercise, complaining that the primary did not hold in their various wards and that the process was marred by irregularities.
He said, “We have received three petitions: Olugbenga Oedema, Omoba Jimi Odimayo, and the last one from Adewale Akinterinwa, after the conclusion of the primary and declaration of the candidate of the party.”
The immediate past governor of Bauchi State said the committee will be at the party’s secretariat until Tuesday to collect whatever complaints there may be.
He said, “As I’m speaking with you, only three petitions have been received. I am calling on all the aspirants who have complaints to please feel free to forward it to us.
“We have since established our office at the headquarters of the party for the collection of this appeal, if there are any.
Speaking on the election, “The situation I met on 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 morning, they were able to declare the results of the primary.
“It is traditional in APC to set up a committee like this in order to follow up on the fallout of the primary election. It’s 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”
He assured that “this committee intends to be thorough and transparent in treating any complaint that we will receive.
“I can assure you that within 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.”
Abubakar, however, said the committee would be expecting more petitions from other aggrieved aspirants between Monday and Tuesday afternoon, saying the secretary of the committee, Obiocha Israel, would be available at the temporary office in Akure for the next two days to receive the petition.
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