As officials overseeing the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary rerun arrived in Okitipupa Local Government of Ondo State on Sunday, supporters of Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Chief Olusola Oke besieged voting centres to participate in the exercise.
The Gov. Usman Ododo-led Governorship Primary Election Committee had declared the Saturday’s primary inconclusive and ordered rerun in 13 Wards of Okitipupa Local Government area.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officials who came late for exercise with tight security, directed supporters to raise the poster of their preferred aspirant and queue.
Supporters of Jimoh Ibrahim, Morayo Lebi, Olamide Ohunyeye, Dayo Faduyile, Olugbenga Edema, Isaacs Kekemeke, Jimi Odinayo, Folukemi Omogoroye among others were conspicuously absent from the venue of the primary.
NAN reports that this played out in Okitipupa Ward 1 at Stella Maris College; Okitipupa Ward 2 at St Johns Primary School and Ayeka/Igbodigo Ward.
Party electoral officials declined talking to journalists as their stern-looking security aides prevented people from getting close to them.
One of the voters who preferred anonymity and refused to mention his preferred aspirant, told NAN that there was a directive from the aspirant that all his supporters should not to take part in the rerun election.
“Our principal has given directive that his supporters should not take part in this rerun election, I’m here on my own to see things for myself,” he said.
Chief Adebayo Ogunedowo, an APC chieftain who spoke with NAN re-echoed that the APC primary was a fraud.
He said that voters who came for the rerun were not objective but only came on the basis of getting some stipends from some of the aspirants.
“These officials arrived around 3:00p.m since 12:00p.m they said the election will hold, this is not an election but a total fraud and rape on democracy.
“Many of the voters have gone and the ones still around are only doing to get some stipends from aspirants’ agents but I know their voting are not genuine,” he said.
Eforts by NAN to speak with Mr Bode Ikulala, the APC chairman in Okitipupa LGA was unsuccessful as calls made to his telephone were not going through.
Also the exercise was unable to hold in Ayeka/Igbodigo Ward over issues of non-authentic validation register by officials who came to monitor.
At Okitipupa Ward 1 and Ward 2, a long queue was formed behind the posters of Aiyedatiwa and Oke, the only two aspirants represented at the centre. (NAN)