Former Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr. Bamidele Oloyeloogun, has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) may lose the governorship election slated for November 16, 2024 if the party’s just concluded primary election is not called off.
The party chieftain made this known at a press conference in Akure on Tuesday.
Oloyeloogun was the speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly from 2017 to 2023, who represented Ifedore State Constituency from 2011 to 2023.
The party had announced Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the candidate of APC for the Nov. 16 governorship election, having scored 48,569 votes in the poll, to defeat other 15 aspirants.
Usman Ododo, the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi, declared Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the primary on Monday.
The former speaker, however, described the conduct of the primary as “sham and fraud” against the party and its members in the state.
He warned that if the April 20 primary was not nullified by the APC leadership, the party “will lose” the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state.
Said he: “As a leader in APC in Ondo State, l want to warn that if the purported April 20 primary is not cancelled, APC will lose the Nov. 16 governorship election.
“It is on record including that of the Independent National Electoral Commission, that there was no ward out of the 203 wards in the state that election was held, they just manufactured figures.
“The evidence is that, today our members are not jubilating because the process that led to the announcement and declaration of the winner was a fraud perpetrated against them.
“Today in Ondo State, APC members have their placard in their heart and they will display it during the Nov. 16 governorship election no matter the level of intimidation.
“As someone who had contested election four times and won, I know the implications of the charade called primary on Saturday.
“Those who came to Ondo State to perpetrate this evil called primary against our members should be held accountable when the chips are down and the seed germinates in November.”
Oloyeloogun made a plea to the party’s leader, President Bola Tinubu, urged him to save the party by making sure the primary is cancelled.
“President Bola Tinubu is the leader of the party and should urgently weigh in on this issue to prevent the party from losing the November governorship election.
the former lawmaker stated, “It was this type of fraud that was perpetrated by the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State in 2007 that emboldened Dr Segun Mimiko to join the Labour Party and the party recorded a huge success in the state,”.
