The Ondo Vanguard for Good Governance, a faction within the All Progressive Congress, has raised serious accusations against the party’s handling of the preliminary processes essential for a fair and transparent primary election.
Scheduled for Saturday, April 20, the APC primary will decide the party’s gubernatorial candidate, with sixteen aspirants cleared to compete. Among the aspirants is the incumbent Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who is seeking reelection.
The controversy began when the coordinator of the Ondo Vanguard for Good Governance, Tade Ojo, issued a statement on Tuesday alleging that the delegate congress which should have taken place on Monday, according to party rules, did not occur.
According to the APC’s established guidelines, a delegate congress must be conducted prior to the primaries to ensure that all processes leading to the election are democratic and transparent.
Mr. Ojo emphasized that the failure to hold this congress was a deliberate act by the party officials, dispatched from the national secretariat, to skew the primary process in favor of Governor Aiyedatiwa.
“We have come to tell the entire people of Ondo State, the national leadership of the APC and all Nigerians that all the processes that ought to lead to a free, fair and credible primary election in Ondo State have been violated by the party officials sent by the APC to Ondo State,” Mr. Ojo stated.
He warned that ignoring these discrepancies could lead to further corruption within the electoral process.
Further detailing the irregularities, Mr. Ojo pointed out that not only was the delegate congress not held on the scheduled date of April 15 in the 203 designated centers, but the party members who had registered to participate were entirely excluded from the process. This exclusion, he claimed, was part of a larger strategy to manipulate the primary election results in favor of the less popular incumbent governor.
However, the Ondo State APC Publicity Secretary, Alex Kalejaiye, countered these claims by asserting that the delegate congress did indeed take place on the said Monday, albeit delayed due to logistical issues caused by the late arrival of national party officials.
According to Kalejaiye, the officials arrived a day late due to a cancelled flight, but they proceeded with the delegate congress after necessary preparatory meetings with the coordinating committee and representatives from all aspirants.
“The exercise was not cancelled.
“We have also informed INEC, but they don’t want to start without letting the governorship aspirants know,” Kalejaiye clarified.
Amid these conflicting reports, Kayode Fasua, spokesperson for the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organization, urged the dissenting group to address their grievances directly with the national party leadership rather than implicating the governor. Fasua stated that the eligibility to vote in the primaries would be digitally verified through party membership cards, suggesting a level of procedural integrity in the process.
As tensions mount within the APC in Ondo State, the political atmosphere remains charged with allegations and defenses, setting a complex stage for the upcoming primary elections.
