Ondo APC aspirant rejects senatorial primary result, demands rerun
By Boye Oyeyemi
An aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo North Senatorial District, Mr Alex Ajipe, has rejected the outcome of the party’s primary election and called for its outright cancellation.
The APC primary, which produced former House of Representatives member, Gbenga Elegbeleye, as winner, has continued to generate controversy across the state.
According to the official result announced by the National Assembly Primary Election Committee Chairman, Iboroma Harry Dabiri, Elegbeleye polled 28,062 votes, the incumbent Senator, Olajide Ipinsagba scored 9,819 votes, while Ajipe came third with 17,313 votes. Other contenders included Adeogun Adejoro with 3,845 votes, Tunji Muhammed with 1,076 votes and Michael Adeyanju with 640 votes.
Speaking in Emu Ile, Owo Local Government Area, on Wednesday, Ajipe dismissed the exercise, alleging widespread irregularities in several councils.
He claimed that the process in four out of the six LGAs in the district was compromised and did not follow the party’s established guidelines.
Ajipe, convener of the Ajipe Democratic Movement, alleged that electoral officers abandoned collation centres after collecting manually written results from party members.
He urged the APC national leadership to investigate the conduct of the primary and order a rerun, insisting that the exercise was “an assault on internal democracy.”
