Six APC lawmakers fail to secure return tickets in Ondo
By Boye Oyeyemi
In a surprising turn of events, only three of the nine serving All Progressives Congress lawmakers in the House of Representatives from Ondo State won return tickets on Saturday.
The results, announced on Monday by the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee for Ondo State, Hon. Iboroma Harry Dabibi, showed that several incumbents lost their bids amid intense contests and disqualifications.
For instance, in Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency, Ifeoluwa Ehindero secured a sweeping victory with 22,304 votes, defeating Ibrahim Moruf Tosin, who polled 330 votes, and Oseni Oyeniyi, who got 118 votes.
Similarly, Dr Abiola Peter Makinde emerged victorious in Ondo East/Ondo West Federal Constituency after polling 10,847 votes to beat Ade Adeniyi and Bola Fisayo, who scored 2,045 and 1,551 votes respectively.
The Okitipupa/Irele primary produced another clear winner as Dr Damamola Olumuyiwa defeated Prince Jimi Odimayo and Dele Omosehin with 6,547 votes.
In the same vein, in the Akure North/Akure South Federal Constituency, Hon. Omowunmi Olatunji Ohwovoriole won the ticket with 9,237 votes in a contest involving 10 aspirants, while Dennis Fadairo came second with 2,120 votes.
The exercise, however, recorded dramatic twists in some constituencies after the committee invalidated votes cast for aspirants who failed to obtain clearance from the party’s screening committee. A case in point was the Akoko South East/Akoko South West constituency, where Dr Olusegun Victor Ategbole’s 12,011 votes were voided, leading to the emergence of Hon. Adegboyega Adefarati with 1,865 valid votes.
The decisions also affected the Owo/Ose and Idanre/Ifedore constituencies, where votes scored by Hon. Ayodeji Arowele Samuel and Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye were cancelled over clearance issues. Engr. Kayode Ijalana and Rasaq Obe were subsequently declared winners, while Matthew Oyerimade and Akingboye Akinleke David clinched tickets for Odigbo/Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo and Ilaje/Ese-Odo respectively.
