One of the aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ondo North Senatorial District primary election, Alexander Ajipe, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the controversy surrounding the exercise, warning that alleged irregularities could undermine the party’s chances in future elections.
Ajipe, who rejected the outcome of the primary won by Gbenga Elegbeleye, alleged widespread vote allocation and manipulation across the senatorial district, insisting that the process in the four Akoko local government areas was not credible.
Addressing journalists in Owo, his hometown, the APC chieftain described the exercise as a “charade,” alleging that coalition and returning officers in Akoko South-West, Akoko North-East, Akoko North-West and Akoko South-East instructed party members to write results on plain sheets of paper, with assurances that the figures would later be transferred to official result sheets.
According to him, after collecting the papers, the officials allegedly disappeared and failed to appear at local government collation centres and the senatorial headquarters, creating confusion and conflicting versions of results circulated on social media.
He further alleged that the primary election committee failed to effectively supervise the process, claiming that members of the committee appointed by the APC National Secretariat split into factions during the exercise, with one faction allegedly abandoning its responsibility.
Ajipe warned that allowing the outcome to stand could have serious political consequences for the APC and President Tinubu’s re-election bid, recalling that the party lost the presidential election in Ondo State in 2019 despite controlling the state government at the time.
He said, “What happened in the four Akoko local government areas was not an election. It was allocation of votes in broad daylight.
“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.
“If this injustice is allowed to stand, the party risks repeating the mistakes of the past. President Tinubu should not allow anti-democratic forces to destroy the confidence of party members ahead of future elections.”
The senatorial aspirant expressed confidence in the APC Appeal Panel and the party’s National Working Committee to review the outcome of the primary.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Iboroma Harry Dabibi, had announced that Elegbeleye scored 28,062 votes to emerge winner of the Ondo North Senatorial District primary.
According to the committee, Ajipe secured 17,313 votes, while incumbent Senator Olajide Ipinsagba polled 9,819 votes.
Other candidates included Adeogun Adejoro with 3,845 votes, Abdul Tunji Muhammed with 1,076 votes, and Michael Adeyanju with 640 votes.
