Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Banji Ajaka, was on Saturday beaten by some angry members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state for allegedly hiding the result sheet for the governorship primary election.
The incident happened at Ugbo ward 3 in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
The APC members at the ward, who demanded for the result sheet of the governorship primary election, reportedly turned on Ajaka after electoral officers accused him of hiding the sheet.
“Honourable Ajaka, the Commissioner for Health, received general beating in his home town as his name was mentioned by the INEC officer. Some INEC officers together with Aiyedatiwa camp that compromised the system by removing the reporting sheet from the materials given to them.
“The place was like the ocean of water for the supporters of Chief Olusola Oke. Ugbo ward 3 people were seriously angry with the ugly situation as they all believed that it is time for Chief Olusola Oke to govern this state,” an eyewitness said.
Ajaka also confirmed the incident in a terse statement, describing it as “inhumane and unacceptable.”
“I was attacked because they alleged that I was withholding result sheet,” he said.
The commissioner alleged that the APC members attacked him before he could explain himself.
Aspirants call for cancellation of primary election
Meanwhile, some APC governorship aspirants have rejected the primary election supervised by Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo.
The APC on Saturday conducted governorship primary election in the 203 wards in Ondo State ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial poll.
However, speaking with newsmen in Akure, the state capital, one of the aspirants, Gbenga Edema, called for the postponement of the election until “things were put in place.”
Edema expressed displeasure over the delay in the release of electoral materials.
He noted that it was contrary to the agreement reached during the stakeholders’ meeting on Friday.
“As I’m speaking to you, no electoral materials have been distributed.
“He told us that the accreditation would start between 10 am and 1pm and that voting would commence by 1pm to 2pm.
“But what we are hearing now is that the election has been concluded and the result announced.
“We asked the chairman, but he had no answer to our questions.
“We are not people that could be manipulated by godfathers. So, we are asking our national leadership that if they are not ready, they should postpone it until the right thing is done,” he said.
Also speaking, Sola Ajisafe, who represented Wale Akinterinwa, another aspirant, said there was no election held in the state.
He called for the rescheduling of the election, noting that Ododo’s failure to follow due process was an “anti-democratic process.”
“My people have been calling me that no single material has been distributed in their wards.
“What is playing out here is a connivance and agreement by Governor Ododo to short-change the people of the state and reduce our capacity to choose our leader.
“We are saying that they should reschedule another election because this election did not even hold.
“This is another form of failure. Ododo has not performed his responsibility concerning this election. This is an anti-democratic process,” he said.
Rotimi Ogunleye, who spoke on behalf of Olusola Oke, an aspirant, called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the exercise.
“I want to inform President Bola Tinubu, because he is our leader, that the men sent to conduct this election are not following the guidelines,” Ogunleye said.
Paul Oniyemofe, who represented Dayo Faduyile, another aspirant, described the election as a “day light robbery,” and asked that the poll should be rescheduled.
Ododo: Election transparentt, credible
However, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, has insisted that the APC governorship primary election in Ondo State, held on Saturday was “transparent.”
Ododo is the chairman of the seven-member committee that supervised the exercise.
Ododo, in a statement by his media aide, Ismaila Isah, commended stakeholders and APC members over the conduct of the election.
“I have received reports from our committee members and security agencies as well as NGOs monitoring the election including video footage.
“I can say that the process has been transparent and we are going to produce a candidate that will unify the APC ahead of the November 2024 governorship election in the state,” he said.
The governor said the delay in the distribution of election materials has no adverse effect on the conduct of the poll.
He added that concerns noticed in the revalidated membership list would not have any major impact on the outcome of the election.
Ododo urged aspirants and their supporters to see the primary election as a “contest among brothers and sisters in one family.”
