Two candidates emerge from parallel APC governorship primaries in Ogun

                                               
Both candidates emerged on Wednesday, with the State Government and the National Working Committee of the party declaring different winners.

Two candidates – Dapo Abiodun and Adekunle Akinlade – have emerged from parallel primaries of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun State.

Both candidates emerged on Wednesday, with the State Government and the National Working Committee of the party declaring different winners.

While the State Government declared Akinlade as the party’s candidate, the NWC said Abiodun won the primaries.

Muhammad Ndabawa, who led the Electoral Committee members sent by the NWC to oversee the primaries, declared that Abiodun, who hails from Ogun East Senatorial District, scored 102,305 votes across the 236 wards and 20 Local Government Areas of the state to emerge the candidate.

Jimi Lawal was said to have scored 51,153 votes; Abimbola Ashiru, 29,764; Senator Gbenga Kaka, 17,771; Abayomi Hunye, 9,110; and Akinlade, 23,443 votes.

While announcing on Wednesday the outcome of the primaries held on Tuesday, and conducted by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, the state APC Chairman, Chief Derin Odebiyi, declared Akinlade as the winner.

Adebiyi said the NWC panel had been compromised, hence the decision to go ahead with the primaries.

Adebiyi said: “The Committee was here and they were emphatic, after cancelling the exercise twice, that the election would hold yesterday, this is after we submitted names of local committee and venues in obedience to the guideline.

“Yesterday morning, they still agreed that the primary would hold and we mobilised to our different wards but we waited endlessly as the phone numbers of committee members were switched off and electoral materials not available.

“Up till now, we don’t know the whereabouts of the committee and we have not seen them at the party secretariat. They’ve been heavily and highly compromised.

“The guideline is straight and unambiguous, it is open secret ballot which is Option A4 but they said they brought ballot papers from Abuja, in a direct primary?
To do what?
“The governorship primaries were conducted and monitored by relevant agencies.”