Ogun 2023: Akinlade, Otegbeye reject results as Abiodun secures APC ticket for second term

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun on Thursday won the All Progressives Congress’ governorship primary by 1,168 votes to defeat five other aspirants.

Meanwhile two of the aspirants, Adekunle Akinlade and Biyi Otegbeye, had rejected the chairmanship of the election committee and passed a vote of no confidence on the Chairman of the governorship election primaries, Wale Ohu.

The aspirants, in a jointly signed press statement, also expressed reservations on the delegate list used for the exercise held at the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abeokuta, the state capital

Their reservations were also expressed in a petition addressed to the National Chairman of the Party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

Akinlade and Otegbeye recalled that it was the same Wale Ohu who conducted the wards, local government and state congresses of the Party in Ogun, adding that the three congresses ended in controversies and deepened the cleavages within the Party in Ogun State.

They also reminded the National Chairman that the outcome of the three congresses conducted by Ohu featured prominently before the National Reconciliation Committee of the APC that was then headed by Adamu.

“It was now surprising that the same Wale Ohu was again appointed to serve as the Chairman of the gubernatorial primary election in Ogun State. It is intriguing that out of the millions of members of the APC nationwide, Mr Ohu is having an exclusive preserve of chairmanship of all congresses in Ogun State,” the statement said.

“Our members who have bitterly complained about the partisan conduct of Mr Wale Ohu in all the congresses he had superintended in Ogun State are therefore not comfortable with the choice of him as Chairman of all the election panels.

“By his antecedent, we do not believe that he has the capacity to conduct an objective and impartial gubernatorial primary election.”

The two aspirants also complained that they were not included in the process of delegates selection for the primaries, alleging that only one aspirant collected all the delegate forms in the State.

They added that a few hours before the election, no list of delegates for the primary election was published nor did the Committee meet with them in line with standard procedure.

“The guidelines for the conduct of the congresses in the APC stipulates that aspirants should pay a prescribed fee for Delegate Forms, which we did but no forms were made available to us.

“Furthermore, only one aspirant collected all the delegate forms in the State, thus hedging the entire process in his favour. Your Excellency may wish to note that a few hours before the scheduled primaries, no list of delegates for the primary has been formally published nor did the Primary Election Committee members meet with us in line with standard procedures.

“This has spurred speculations that the list to be used for the exercise is a disputed list of delegates. Our members are aggrieved about it.

“Against this background, we wish to inform your Excellency that we have no confidence in the choice of Chairman of the election panel and have fears and reservations about the list of delegates to be used for the exercise.”