Ondo 2024: Jimoh Ibrahim, Omogorioye reject primary election’s result, file appeal

Two more aspirants in last Saturday’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State have filed petitions at the party’s Primary Appeal Committee, headed by former Bauchi State Governor Abdullahi Abubakar.

Senator Jimoh Ibrahim and Folakemi Omogoroye filed their petitions against the announcement of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the primary.

Previous aspirants who had filed appeals are Wale Akinterinwa, Jimi Odimayo, and Olugbenga Edema.

In their petitions, Ibrahim and Omogoroye claimed that the governorship primary was marred with irregularities and fell short of appreciable standard.

They called for the cancellation of the primary and conduct of a fresh primary.

Omogoroye said: “I am urging you to cancel the election and order a fresh election in which all the laid down guidelines for a credible election will be followed and a level-playing field will be assured and ensured for all players in the election.

Read Also: The APC governorship primary in Ondo
“Anything short of this is an open endorsement of the robbery of Saturday by the leadership of our party.”

Jimoh Ibrahim said: “This is an appeal to your committee to cancel the primary election held in Ondo State on April 20, 2024 on the ground that there was no election in the 203 wards and this is evidenced from the many petitions before your committee, as captured on the ground below.

“Ground One: non-compliance with your rules. I paid N100 million for the validation of over 40,000 party members and those members were not allowed to be revalidated across Ondo State. This was because no voters’ register was made available in the wards to which members could be validated.

“On Ground Two on provision of electoral materials: No electoral materials were provided for the conduct of the election, the local government electoral officials were kept in the hotel during the period of the election for several hours and only result sheets were given to them. The ward electoral officers were provided by one of the aspirants – Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa.