Osun 2022: APC faction rejects primary election results

A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Osun, loyal to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, says it would appeal the outcome of last Saturday’s primary election in the state.

A statement by the Publicity Secretary of the faction, Abiodun Agboola, on Monday in Osogbo, quoted the factional Chairman, Rasaq Salinsile, as saying this at a meeting in Osogbo.

Mr Salinsile, who described the primaries as a charade, ruse, and sham, said the faction would approach the Appeal Committee to be set up by the National Secretariat to seek redress.

He said the faction rejected the result of the primary election and was convinced that justice had not been served

“We put it on record the fact that there were so many anomalies, all of which incidentally, we have made known before Saturday’s event,” he said.

“We put on record that as at the day of the election, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, our governorship aspirant, was not allowed to have access to the membership register by which the exercise took place.

“By this, he was denied knowledge of how many members the party had as at the day of the election which is contrary to morality and the law.

“We put on record the fact that many people were disenfranchised as APC members who trooped to the election centres with their membership slips, could not find their names on the register.

“Contrary to the guidelines, accreditation did not take place in many election centres, while result sheets were unavailable.

“We are, therefore, convinced that justice has not been served and therefore rejects the result and will be approaching the Appeal Committee to be set up by the National Secretariat”.

In a related development, a Coalition Of Civil Societies Of Nigeria said the primary lacked international best practices and fell short of the appreciable standard.

Addressing a news conference at the NUJ Correspondents Chapel office, the leader of the team, Patrick Usman, of the Centre for Development of Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria, said the election was not fair.

Mr Usman recommended that the national secretariat of the APC should investigate the irregularities reported in the election.

“Our team observed and noted that there was generally non-availability of result sheets at the wards where we observed the election.

“In some cases, ordinary A4 papers and official letterhead of the party were used instead.

“The primary election cannot stand the scrutiny of parameters for a free and fair election”, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Governor Gboyega Oyetola, won the party’s primary on Saturday.

Mr Oyetola, who is seeking re-election, polled 222,169, votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Adeoti, the preferred candidate of Mr Aregbesola, who scored 12,921.

The governor won in all the 30 Local Government Areas of the state in the direct primary election.

He also defeated Lasun Yusuf, a former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, who scored 460 votes.

(NAN)