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 the alleged irregularities could affect the party’s fortunes in future elections.
Ajipe, who rejected the outcome of the primary election won by Gbenga Elegbeleye, alleged widespread vote allocation and manipulation across the district, insisting that what took place in the four Akoko Local Government Areas was not a credible election.
Addressing journalists in Owo, his hometown, the APC chieftain described the exercise as a “charade,” alleging that collation and returning officers in Akoko South-West, Akoko North-East, Akoko North-West, and Akoko South-East asked party members to write results on plain sheets of paper, assuring them 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 the local government collation centres and the senatorial headquarters, thereby creating confusion and conflicting versions of the results 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 responsibilities.
Ajipe warned that allowing the outcome of the exercise 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 an 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, however, expressed confidence in the APC Appeal Panel and the party’s National Working Committee to review the outcome of the primary election.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Hon. Iboroma Harry Dabibi, announced on Tuesday night at the APC State Secretariat in Akure that Elegbeleye scored 28,062 votes to emerge as the winner of the Ondo North Senatorial District primary election.
According to the committee, Ajipe secured 17,313 votes, while the incumbent senator, Olajide Ipinsagba, polled 9,819 votes.
The committee also announced that Adeogun Adejoro scored 3,845 votes, Abdul Tunji Muhammed polled 1,076 votes, while Michael Adeyanju recorded 640 votes.
