APC panel proposes for cancellation of Ondo primary result

John Alechenu, Abuja [reporting

The three-member All Progressives Congress Ondo State Governorship Primary Appeals Committee has recommended for the cancellation of the election.

It also recommended that a fresh election be conducted to  chose the party’s standard bearer in the forthcoming governorship election.

A copy of the report sighted by our correspondent on Monday, observed among other things that, “It is a matter of grave concern that the accreditation process appeared to have been manipulated.

“Thus, in consideration of the above observed irregularities and for the sake of fair play, it is hereby recommended that the election result should be cancelled while a rerun election should be ordered immediately in  order to beat the INEC deadline.”

It was however learnt that the committee submitted its findings and left the decision on the way forward for the party leadership to make.

A meeting of the party’s National Working Committee on the report was, however,  deadlocked as party leaders failed to reach a consensus.

The meeting, which had most members of the NWC in attendance, was held at the party’s National Secretariat on Monday.

It was learnt that the three-hour meeting, was convened to deliberate on the Appeal Panel’s report which was secretly submitted to the NWC by the panel’s Chairman, Helen Bendega, late on Friday.

It was gathered that the party leadership was divided over whether or not to cancel the primary as recommended by the panel.

The Ondo APC Governorship primary conducted on September 3, was reportedly marred by controversy as several contestants and party leaders from the state alleged massive electoral fraud.

Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, was declared winner after the contest which was supervised by the Governor Abubakar Badaru-led Primary Election Committee.

Akeredolu defeated Segun Abraham, the preferred candidate of the national leader of APC, Bola Tinubu.

Abraham, Olusola Oke and Senator Ajayi Borofice had petitioned the APC Appeal Panel Committee, alleging irregularities on the delegates’ list for the primaries.

Those who attended Monday’s meeting included the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, two Deputy National Chairmen (South), Segun Oni and his counterpart from the North, Lawali Shuiabu.