The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election as a sham and a “mockery of democracy.”
In a statement by the party and signed by its publicity secretary, Kennedy Peretei, the PDP noted that the primary held Saturday was a travesty of the democratic process and lacked credibility.
“The overhyped All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Ondo State turned out to be a huge charade and a mockery of democracy in every sense of the word,” said Mr Peretei.
Mr Peretei noted that the exercise was marred by irregularities, lacked international best practices, and fell short of appreciable standards. He said it was ”an anticlimax and a mockery of democracy.”
He said, ”If the APC cannot conduct a free, fair, transparent and credible primary election for 171,922 of their members, they should perish the idea of presiding over the affairs of Ondo State beyond the eight years in which they have practically stagnated the state.”
Mr Peretei said that despite the fact that APC raked N830 million from the sale of nomination forms, the aspirants’ efforts to the party’s flagbearer “headed for the dustbin.”
“The signs that all would not be well emerged 48 hours before the primary when five of the aspirants petitioned the APC national headquarters about irregularities on the accredited members for the primary,” the PDP’s spokesperson said.
“Four years ago, former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for N85 billion fraud, presided over a similar event in Akure, where none of the aspirants sighted the delegates list before the primary,” he recalled.
He alleged that as of Saturday morning, it was unclear if the election would be a direct or indirect primary, adding, “That was the exercise that produced former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu as candidate of the APC for 2020 Governorship election.”
“This time, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, Bello’s successor in office, has wrecked more havoc than his boss,” he added.
Mr Peretei also claimed that election materials and officials were unavailable at the exercise venue, including the Akure City Hall, which was empty as of 1:00 p.m.
“Instead, there were reported cases of violence in Akure South and Okitipupa Local Government Areas, where political thugs had a field day.
“In one of the videos that was seen online to create the impression that the exercise held, the returning officer counted to 400 and jumped to 560. Some of the aspirants have since called for the cancellation of the exercise,” he alleged.
Mr Peretei said the APC could not bring only one of their 16 aspirants to square up with other political parties in the general election through a process that is above board.
“As of the early hours of today, Journalists were still waiting for the outcome of the charade that Usman Ododo and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege called a primary election in Ondo State,” he added.
