APC gov primary: Setback for Adeola as Hunye rejects Ogun result

APC gov primary: Setback for Adeola as Hunye rejects Ogun result 

 

The victory of Senator Olamilekan Adeola in the Ogun State governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have suffered a major setback following the rejection of the result by fellow aspirant, Abayomi Hunye, who described the outcome as flawed and unacceptable.

Hunye faulted the declaration by the party’s primary committee that he scored zero votes while Adeola emerged winner with 304,055 votes, insisting that results collated by his agents across the 236 wards indicated that he actually won the exercise with 453,765 votes.

The development is already fueling fresh controversy within the Ogun APC and raising questions over the credibility of the primary process.

Declaring his intention to challenge the outcome through constitutional and legal channels, Hunye said the announcement of zero votes for an aspirant who purchased forms, was screened by the party, mobilised supporters and actively participated in the election defied logic and undermined democratic principles.

In a statement issued by his campaign organisation, Hunye maintained that the figures announced by the committee could not be accepted as the true reflection of votes cast by party members.

“We categorically reject any attempt to present the announced figures as conclusive proof of a free, fair, credible, or uncontested democratic exercise because information made available from our party agents in all the 236 wards shows that our candidate had 453,765 votes compared to Senator Olamilekan Adeola’s 304,055 votes,” the statement said.

The campaign also alleged widespread irregularities during the exercise, including intimidation, harassment and restrictions that allegedly prevented genuine participation in several areas.

“It is therefore difficult to reconcile the narrative of a transparent and competitive direct primary with widespread complaints and reports from supporters concerning intimidation, harassment, restriction of participation, disruption of mobilisation efforts, and circumstances that allegedly prevented genuine voting opportunities in several locations,” the statement added.

Hunye’s camp further pointed to what it described as inconsistencies between results allegedly recorded at some local levels and the final figures eventually declared by the committee.

The aspirant insisted that his move was not only to reclaim what he described as his lawful mandate, but also to defend transparency, internal democracy and justice within the APC.