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Gubernatorial Aspirants, Ondo East and West Delegates Set the 'Records Straight' on Akeredolu's Emergence
Posted by George on Tue 13th Sep, 2016 - tori.ngAll Progressives Congress flag-bearer in Ondo State Akeredolu has gained the support of major stakeholders in the Sunshine State ahead of gubernatorial election.
Rotimi Akeredolu
Sequel to agitations and protestations of the outcome of the September 3rd, 2016 All Progressives Congress primary election in Ondo State which produced a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN by a small section of the 24 aspirants; three major stakeholders namely the ‘League of Contestants in the Last APC Governorship Primaries in Ondo State’, Ondo East and Ondo West Local Government Areas have released press statements to affirm the credibility of the democratic process.
In a joint statement issued by the delegates from the Ondo East and West Local Government Areas on the 8th of September, 2016 titled “Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election: Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas Delegates’ Lists: Setting the Records Straight”, both parties refuted claims that the delegates’ lists of the Ondo East and West LGAs were doctored to favour Rotimi Akeredolu also known as Aketi.
Part of the official letter which was signed by Mrs Roseline Adesua Omolara, Secretary of the APC, Ondo East LGA, Mr Okewoye Sarafa, Secretary of the APC, Ondo West LGA, Mr Raphael Adetimehin aka Chico, State Organizing Secretary of the Ondo West LGA and Professor Bayo Ademodi, State Leader reads;
"With regards to the recently concluded Governorship Gubernatorial Election of APC in Ondo State, our interest is in the purported claim by some self-acclaimed leaders of APC in Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas that delegates list used for Ondo East and Ondo West Local Government Areas were fake and/or padded."
In a joint statement issued by the delegates from the Ondo East and West Local Government Areas on the 8th of September, 2016 titled “Ondo State APC Governorship Primary Election: Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas Delegates’ Lists: Setting the Records Straight”, both parties refuted claims that the delegates’ lists of the Ondo East and West LGAs were doctored to favour Rotimi Akeredolu also known as Aketi.
Part of the official letter which was signed by Mrs Roseline Adesua Omolara, Secretary of the APC, Ondo East LGA, Mr Okewoye Sarafa, Secretary of the APC, Ondo West LGA, Mr Raphael Adetimehin aka Chico, State Organizing Secretary of the Ondo West LGA and Professor Bayo Ademodi, State Leader reads;
"With regards to the recently concluded Governorship Gubernatorial Election of APC in Ondo State, our interest is in the purported claim by some self-acclaimed leaders of APC in Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas that delegates list used for Ondo East and Ondo West Local Government Areas were fake and/or padded."
"We the undersigned hereby declare categorically that it was the harmonized lists issuing from the decision of the National Congress Appeals Committee in 2014 that were used on Saturday 3rd September, 2016. No strange delegate lists were used for our two Local Government Areas; rather it was the harmonized lists that were used. We participated at every stage of the process and we make bold to say that authentic names and know delegates were accredited at the venue designated for Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government and accordingly voted during the exercise"
"The process of accreditation for our Local Government Areas was adjudged open, credible and acceptable to all interests in our Local Government Areas. All delegates, including those who are now crying blue murder sat under the same canopy and were later conveyed to the voting venue under heavy security. At that point, nobody raised eyebrows as to the authenticity of the list used."
Both groups went on to state that the disputed delegates list was first made available to the gubernatorial aspirants as far as middle of late July, 2016 thereby reducing the chances of any act of hanky-panky in the electoral process.
They proceeded to expound on the build-up of the delegates’ lists of the Ondo East and West LGAs which have become ‘objects of controversy’ in the recently concluded primary election.
‘’For record purposes, the delegates list is the 26 Executive members in the Local Government Area, the 12 principal Ward Executive Members and special delegates. In the case of Ondo East and Ondo West Local Government Areas, delegates list was based on the Arolambo-led National Congress Appeals Committee decision of 2014 and approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great Party”
“Specifically, the National Appeals Committee decided on a 60/40 sharing formula with the Bola Ilori Group having 60 percent while the Ademodi group presenting 40 percent of the Executive Committee Members across the board. Sometime last year, the NEC mandated the State Executive to ensure the implementation of the decision and this is evidence by the fact that since October 2015, the Secretary, Ondo West Local Government Area, Mr. Sarafa Okewoye and the Secretary, Ondo East Local Government Area, Mrs Roseline Adesua have become bonafide members of the State Executive Committee, the highest organ of the Party in Ondo State. They have been attending State Executive Committee Meetings without any opposition from any quarter. Why now?’’ The group asked.
According to the groups, the list of the delegates in Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas were already known to all interest groups.
In the same vein, a large section of the 24 gubernatorial aspirants in a joint communiqué disclaimed obnoxious claims by some embittered aspirants that the primary election was compromised.
They urged aggrieved groups to join hands with Rotimi Akeredolu to bail out the people of Ondo from the oppressive and self-serving government of the People’s Democratic Party which is the major goal of the party in the state.
Excerpts from the press statement read;
"The primaries have come and gone and a deserving winner and flag-bearer of our party has been elected. However, as contestants who actively participated in the process, we wish to make a clear statement expressing our views and conviction about the election."
"The joint communiqué is necessitated by the need to clear the air on some needless insinuations and deliberate promotion of falsehood aimed at tarnishing the integrity of the process and by extension our party."
"The crux of the falsehood is that an illegal list of strange names of non-party members, non-delegates were injected into the final list of voters at the primaries thereby occasioning a disenfranchisement of “legitimate delegates."
"First, as contestants in that election, we are satisfied that the exercise was not only free, fair and transparent, it was credible and by far one of the most outstanding internal electoral exercise performed by our party in recent times."
"Secondly, the procedure and conduct of the election was legal, fair, open and transparent."
"Thirdly, that the delegate list used was issued by the appropriate authorities of the party"
The group also affirmed an assertion by the Ondo East and West delegates that each aspirant was privy to the delegates’ lists before the primary election.
“We wish to stress that the list (delegates’ lists) emanated from constituted authorities and was given to all of us before the election and we all agreed to participate in the process” the group reiterated and concluded with a pledge of allegiance to Akeredolu against the November 26 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Meanwhile, an impeccable source confided in OndoforTruth that the Akeredolu Campaign Platform didn’t pay a dime in any form of inducement to any delegate who voted at the primaries. The source noted that as a result, Akeredolu lost a significant number of delegates after he informed them that “nothing would be given to anyone until they have voted.”
According to a source, many in the Akeredolu leadership complained about his unorthodox process, with some ridiculously insisting he made use of ‘voodoo’ to command the obedience of the delegates.
Akeredolu resisted all entreaties and stuck to his initial requirements. Delegates were made to identify their perspective leaders and then told to reach them after voting to collect a token for their allegiances called honorarium. Of note is that these individuals could have voted against Akeredolu but as long as they were accredited by the Akeredolu campaign, they were eligible to get his gift.
Olusegun Abraham who came second in the primary election with 635 votes behind Akeredolu who garnered 669 votes has publicly challenged the outcome of the process with a promised written petition to the party’s Electoral Appeal Committee on a ‘second thought’ after congratulating Akeredolu.
Reports have it that Chief Olusola Oke, a former Legal Adviser of the People’s Democratic Party; PDP who also finished third with 576 votes has expressed his distrust in the primary election and could sabotage the emergence of Akeredolu as Governor.
Similarly, Senator Ajayi Boroffice who finished at a distant 4th with 471 votes registered his displeasure but has refused to comment further on the credibility of the process.
Efforts are currently being made by the leadership of the APC in Ondo to appease all aggrieved minds for the purpose of ensuring party cohesion to successfully prosecute the forthcoming governorship election in November.
"The process of accreditation for our Local Government Areas was adjudged open, credible and acceptable to all interests in our Local Government Areas. All delegates, including those who are now crying blue murder sat under the same canopy and were later conveyed to the voting venue under heavy security. At that point, nobody raised eyebrows as to the authenticity of the list used."
Both groups went on to state that the disputed delegates list was first made available to the gubernatorial aspirants as far as middle of late July, 2016 thereby reducing the chances of any act of hanky-panky in the electoral process.
They proceeded to expound on the build-up of the delegates’ lists of the Ondo East and West LGAs which have become ‘objects of controversy’ in the recently concluded primary election.
‘’For record purposes, the delegates list is the 26 Executive members in the Local Government Area, the 12 principal Ward Executive Members and special delegates. In the case of Ondo East and Ondo West Local Government Areas, delegates list was based on the Arolambo-led National Congress Appeals Committee decision of 2014 and approved by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great Party”
“Specifically, the National Appeals Committee decided on a 60/40 sharing formula with the Bola Ilori Group having 60 percent while the Ademodi group presenting 40 percent of the Executive Committee Members across the board. Sometime last year, the NEC mandated the State Executive to ensure the implementation of the decision and this is evidence by the fact that since October 2015, the Secretary, Ondo West Local Government Area, Mr. Sarafa Okewoye and the Secretary, Ondo East Local Government Area, Mrs Roseline Adesua have become bonafide members of the State Executive Committee, the highest organ of the Party in Ondo State. They have been attending State Executive Committee Meetings without any opposition from any quarter. Why now?’’ The group asked.
According to the groups, the list of the delegates in Ondo West and Ondo East Local Government Areas were already known to all interest groups.
In the same vein, a large section of the 24 gubernatorial aspirants in a joint communiqué disclaimed obnoxious claims by some embittered aspirants that the primary election was compromised.
They urged aggrieved groups to join hands with Rotimi Akeredolu to bail out the people of Ondo from the oppressive and self-serving government of the People’s Democratic Party which is the major goal of the party in the state.
Excerpts from the press statement read;
"The primaries have come and gone and a deserving winner and flag-bearer of our party has been elected. However, as contestants who actively participated in the process, we wish to make a clear statement expressing our views and conviction about the election."
"The joint communiqué is necessitated by the need to clear the air on some needless insinuations and deliberate promotion of falsehood aimed at tarnishing the integrity of the process and by extension our party."
"The crux of the falsehood is that an illegal list of strange names of non-party members, non-delegates were injected into the final list of voters at the primaries thereby occasioning a disenfranchisement of “legitimate delegates."
"First, as contestants in that election, we are satisfied that the exercise was not only free, fair and transparent, it was credible and by far one of the most outstanding internal electoral exercise performed by our party in recent times."
"Secondly, the procedure and conduct of the election was legal, fair, open and transparent."
"Thirdly, that the delegate list used was issued by the appropriate authorities of the party"
The group also affirmed an assertion by the Ondo East and West delegates that each aspirant was privy to the delegates’ lists before the primary election.
“We wish to stress that the list (delegates’ lists) emanated from constituted authorities and was given to all of us before the election and we all agreed to participate in the process” the group reiterated and concluded with a pledge of allegiance to Akeredolu against the November 26 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Meanwhile, an impeccable source confided in OndoforTruth that the Akeredolu Campaign Platform didn’t pay a dime in any form of inducement to any delegate who voted at the primaries. The source noted that as a result, Akeredolu lost a significant number of delegates after he informed them that “nothing would be given to anyone until they have voted.”
According to a source, many in the Akeredolu leadership complained about his unorthodox process, with some ridiculously insisting he made use of ‘voodoo’ to command the obedience of the delegates.
Akeredolu resisted all entreaties and stuck to his initial requirements. Delegates were made to identify their perspective leaders and then told to reach them after voting to collect a token for their allegiances called honorarium. Of note is that these individuals could have voted against Akeredolu but as long as they were accredited by the Akeredolu campaign, they were eligible to get his gift.
Olusegun Abraham who came second in the primary election with 635 votes behind Akeredolu who garnered 669 votes has publicly challenged the outcome of the process with a promised written petition to the party’s Electoral Appeal Committee on a ‘second thought’ after congratulating Akeredolu.
Reports have it that Chief Olusola Oke, a former Legal Adviser of the People’s Democratic Party; PDP who also finished third with 576 votes has expressed his distrust in the primary election and could sabotage the emergence of Akeredolu as Governor.
Similarly, Senator Ajayi Boroffice who finished at a distant 4th with 471 votes registered his displeasure but has refused to comment further on the credibility of the process.
Efforts are currently being made by the leadership of the APC in Ondo to appease all aggrieved minds for the purpose of ensuring party cohesion to successfully prosecute the forthcoming governorship election in November.
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