ADC PRIMARIES: OGBORU EMERGES DELTA GOV CANDIDATE, ILAKA KICKS IN OYO
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HOTJIST NEWS
More candidates of the African Democratic Congress emerged across several states, ahead of the 2027 elections.
The development comes as the governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Chief Bisi Ilaka, expressed strong disapproval of the governorship primaries held in Ibadan on Friday, describing it as a complete travesty.
In Delta State, former governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, emerged as the party’s governorship flag bearer.
Chairman of the ADC primary election committee, Prof Patrick Williams, announced the results and commended party members, delegates and aspirants for what he described as a peaceful and orderly process.
He stated that the party ensured all aspirants were given equal opportunities to participate in the primaries in line with the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines.
According to him, two aspirants contested the governorship ticket — Chief Ogboru and Dr Emmanuel Unuafe.
Announcing the final result, Williams disclosed that Ogboru polled 38,151 votes to defeat Unuafe, who secured 1,182 votes.
“Having scored the highest number of valid votes cast in the primary election, Chief Great Ogboru is hereby declared the winner of the ADC governorship primary election,” he said.
In Kaduna State, members participated in the party’s presidential, governorship and state House of Assembly primaries amid the absence of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who is currently being detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over alleged financial misconduct.
Our correspondent, who monitored the exercise in parts of the state, observed that party members turned out in large numbers to cast their votes for candidates of their choice.
Speaking on the conduct of the primaries, the Kaduna State Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Darius Kurah, said the exercise was peaceful across the state.
“I am in my village in Southern Kaduna, and the ADC primaries went smoothly without any issues here. Our party members came out and voted for candidates of their choice,” Kurah said.
Top contenders for the ADC governorship ticket, including former Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Muhammad Sani Bello; the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru; former Director of Human Resources, Dangote Group, Shuaibu Mikati; Jafaru Sani; and Islamic cleric, Ahmad Tijjani, participated in the exercise.
A former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Dr Funso Ayeni, emerged as the ADC senatorial candidate for Ekiti North District.
Ayeni said that his senatorial bid was to redress the present neglect of the zone.
The senatorial candidate, according to a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Monday, spoke while addressing party stalwarts in the Okeijebu area of Ikole Local Government.
He stated, “My conviction for the senatorial seat in Ekiti North is to represent the people effectively. At present, the people of the senatorial district are neglected.”
Meanwhile, Ilaka, a former Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, said the primaries were allegedly marred by electoral malpractice, adding that some results which emanated from the exercise were allegedly manufactured for the purpose of electoral fraud.
He also alleged that some results entered in 13 sheets for the party’s governorship primaries were handed over to persons unknown and are subject to dispute.
The primaries produced Adegboyega Adegoke as the governorship candidate of the party for the 2027 governorship election.
Reacting, Ilaka said, “It’s totally unacceptable. It’s a complete travesty. The results entered in the 13 sheets that were handed over to persons unknown are disputed because they never got to the local government areas where the authentic results were domiciled. They were simply manufactured for the purpose of electoral fraud,” Ilaka said.
Speaking with newsmen at the Kakanfo Inn and Conference Centre, Ibadan, on Sunday, Ilaka alleged that all the 11 local government areas in Ibadan did not receive result sheets, as well as Ibarapa North and Ibarapa East local government areas.
“All 11 local governments in Ibadan did not receive result sheets. The two local governments in Ibarapa, which are Ibarapa North and Ibarapa East, also did not receive result sheets. People were calling for these result sheets, but they did not appear,” Ilaka said.
He further alleged that votes were, however, cast and collated in the wards without the disputed result sheets, adding that the result sheets later allegedly surfaced with the electoral committee.
“However, they proceeded to conduct their primaries. They voted in their wards and collated those results, but those result sheets did not appear. Miraculously, they appeared with the electoral committee, and they collated results from them,” Ilaka said.
Additionally, he alleged that the results that populated the result sheets of Ibadan were from the two Ibarapa local government areas.
“Those results that populate the result sheets of Ibadan are the two Ibarapa local government areas. Because they did not emanate from the Ibadan local governments,” Chief Ilaka said.
The Oyo ADC governorship aspirant asserted that each of those local governments, party officials and agents were on the ground to attest that the primaries conducted in their local governments and wards were not accurately recorded.
And in each of those local governments, party officials, agents were all at hand to attest that this is not a true and accurate recording of how primaries in their local governments and their wards were conducted.
“So we reject those results in their totality – the results entered on those 33 result sheets,” Ilaka said.
He revealed that they would send a petition to the appeal committee of the party to challenge the 13 result sheets that allegedly went to persons unknown, which did not transmit further to their true destination.
“We will send a petition to the Appeals Tribunal. We intend to challenge the 13 result sheets that went to persons unknown, that did not transmit further to their true destination,” Ilaka said.
He said that the true result sheets of the primaries were in his possession, expressing confidence that the party would ensure the truth prevailed.
“We have the true results. We even have members of that electoral committee in their own local governments. We would challenge them.
“I’m quite confident that if the party does really mean business, and does really want to win an election, it would make sure that the truth prevails,” Ilaka added.
He said that he won 14,000 in 28 out of the 29 local government areas in the primary election.
“And I know for a fact that out of the 29 local governments, we can ascertain the results as being authentic and true. I won 28 of them.
“We have demonstrated again that my group and the people I represent or I seek to represent within the party are simply the largest bloc in the party.
“We are not just making spurious allegations. We are not crying because we are supposed to have lost an election. If we lost fair and square, fine,” he added.
Chief Ilaka appealed to members of the party to do what is right by allowing the voice of members to be heard.
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