Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo state, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial nomination for the November 16 elections.
Kogi State governor and election organising committee chairman Usman Ododo named Aiyedatiwa the winner of the party’s primary on Monday.
According to Ododo, Aiyedatiwa received 48,569 votes, defeating his nearest competitors, Mayowa Akinfolarin (15,343) and Olusola Oke (14,915.
Aiyedatiwa won 16 of the state’s 18 LGAs, while Oke won the Ilaje LGA.
The election in Ifedore LGA was cancelled due to violent incidents.
The APC primary poll, which began on Saturday, was marred by charges of irregularities, and there were calls for cancellation by the leading party.
Several aspirants claimed that no elections were held in most sections of the state.
TheCable reporters who covered the election in Akure were unable to witness voting in various wards in the Ondo state capital.
Olusola Oke, Olugbenga Edoema, Wale Akinterinwa, Dayo Faduyile, and Jimi Odimayo are among the governorship candidates who opposed the exercise.
Folakemi Omogoroye, a female governorship candidate, called the election a “complete rape of democracy”.
Despite the criticism and controversy surrounding the election, the Kogi state governor maintained that the process was transparent.
The primary election covered 203 wards in the state’s 18 LGAs.
The poll was delayed in all 13 wards of Okitipupa LGA due to late material arrival. The postponed election, held on Sunday, saw a poor voter turnout in several wards.
On Sunday evening, party members held a protest in Akure against the governorship election.
The primary was branded as “daylight robbery” by Adeniran Oyebade, director-general of the Olusola Oke campaign organisation in Ondo Central.