… Wins 16 of 18 councils

… Loses Ilaje LGA to Oke

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has emerged as the winner of the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Aiyedatiwa emerged with 48,569 votes and was declared the winner of the primary in the early hours of Monday almost 48 hours after the exercise began by the Governor of Kogi State, who doubled as the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, Usman Ododo.

Aiyedatiwa, who emerged as governor following the demise of his boss, late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, defeated 15 other aspirants to clinch the ticket of the party ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.

Ododo, who disclosed that out of the 171,922 total number of voters, 95,178 were accredited, 95,178 votes were cast, and 95,178 valid votes were returned, said, “I declare Lucky Aiyedatiwa returned elected and declared winner of the Ondo APC governorship primary election. The nomination shall be rectified by a special Congress.”

The other 15 aspirants who participated in the primary include Olusoji Ehinlanwo, Jimi Odimayo, Jimoh Ibrahim, and APC National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Isaacs Kekemeke.

Others are Wale Akinterinwa, Olugbenga Oedema, Olusola Oke (SAN), Olamide Ohunyeye, Morayo Lebi, Oladiran Iyantan, Prof. Francis Faduyile, Mayowa Akinfolarin, and Ifeoluwa Oyedele, as well as two female aspirants, Funmilayo Adekojo and Funke Omogoroye.

The primary, marked by controversy and tension, saw Aiyedatiwa’s closest contender, Mayowa Akinfolarin, secure the second position with 15,343 votes; Olusola Oke finished third with 14,915; and Jimoh Ibrahim scored 9,456 in the fourth position.

However, Aiyedatiwa lost his Ilaje Local Council Area to Oke, who also hailed from the council, by a margin of 26 votes.

The governor did not also win in Ifedore local council, as the party’s returning officer, Oliver Okpala, told the seven-man committee that the sporadic gun shots prevented the shadow election from taking place.

Okpala said that due to the violence, he recorded zero votes for all the aspirants in the local council.

He said: “No election took place in Ifedore. We couldn’t find anybody in any ward. Everybody has taken shelter in their homes. There was violence everywhere. We saw people mobilising. The police were on the ground to give protection.”

Speaking prior to the party’s electoral officers reeling out the results from the 18 council areas, Ododo said, “Let’s remember that the real election lies with all of us as members of this great party, the All Progessives Congress. We must always reflect on the words of our father and leader, President Bola Tinubu, who has maintained that a political contest is a quest to serve by brothers and sisters from the same family but leaving in the same room and must therefore live in the same house after the election has been won and lost.

“In our own room today, we are all in the same room as a family, and as such, we have no need to abandon the party, irrespective of today’s outcome. We must set aside our differences and unite behind our candidate.

“In our unity, we shall continue to find strength, and our victory lies in our solidarity as party men and women.”

Results of the Ondo APC governorship primary election

1: ILAJE LG

Aiyedatiwa         2,485
Akinterinwa.       26
Oke.                   2,511
Jimoh Ibrahim, 589

2: Ile Oluji/Okeigbo

Voters: 4309
Accredited: 3097
Valid: 3097

Jimoh Ibrahim: 282
Aiyedatiwa: 1225
Wale Akinterinwa: 474

3: Ondo West

Voters: 22122
Accredited: 17679
Valid: 17679
Jimoh Ibrahim: 2668
Aiyedatiwa: 10610

4: ESE-ODO LG
Aiyedatiwa:  298
Akinterinwa:  0
Olusola Oke: 147
Jimoh Ibrahim: 174

5: OWO LG

Aiyedatiwa         2,123
Akinterinwa.       345
Oke                      225
Jimoh Ibrahim, 192

6: IDANRE LG

Aiyedatiwa 1, 579
Akinterinwa        119
Oke                      225
Jimoh Ibrahim, 120

7: AKOKO NORTH EAST LG

Aiyedatiwa 1, 664
Akinterinwa       135
Oke                     138
Jimoh Ibrahim, 505

8: AKOKO NORTH WEST LG

Aiyedatiwa        5, 430
Akinterinwa       198
Oke                       2, 721
Jimoh Ibrahim, 728

9: AKOKO SOUTH EAST LG

Aiyedatiwa 2, 533
Akinterinwa       43
Oke                     391
Jimoh Ibrahim, 67

10: AKOKO SOUTH WEST LG

Aiyedatiwa 2, 747
Akinterinwa       272
Oke                     415
Jimoh Ibrahim, 466

11: NO RESULT FOR IFEDORE LGA.

All aspirants scored zero, according to the returning officer, due to an alleged shooting.

12: OSE LG

Aiyedatiwa 1, 091
Akinterinwa       39
Oke                      800
Jimoh Ibrahim, 267

13: IRELE LG

Aiyedatiwa 1, 203
Akinterinwa        15
Oke                       93
Jimoh Ibrahim, 139

14: ODIGBO LG

Aiyedatiwa         2, 631
Akinterinwa        114
Oke                      138
Jimoh Ibrahim, 845

15: AKURE NORTH LG

Aiyedatiwa 2, 860
Akinterinwa        177
Oke                        1, 239
Jimoh Ibrahim, 1, 606

16: AKURE SOUTH LG
Aiyedatiwa 3, 265
Akinterinwa        86
Oke                      328
Jimoh Ibrahim, 294

17 OKITIPUPA LG

Aiyedatiwa 1, 622
Akinterinwa        27
Oke                        1, 571
Jimoh Ibrahim, 109

18: ONDO EAST LG

Aiyedatiwa 4, 803
Akinterinwa        141
Oke                        1, 171
Jimoh Ibrahim, 406