Fraud, irregularities can’t be ignored, committee tells NWC

The Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Primary Appeal Committee has recommended the cancellation of the disputed shadow poll that threw up Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as the governorship candidate.

The committee headed by Mrs. Hellen Bendega also recommended that a rerun primary should be held immediately to beat the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC).

The panel also suggested that the party’s national leadership should revert to the earlier delegates’ list, which was distributed to aspirants in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), shortly before the controversial primary.

According to the committee, a final and properly harmonised list acceptable to all contenders should be compiled, adding that the delegates’ list should be released, not on the eve of the primary, but much earlier to give sufficient time for the take-off of elections and avoid being used in favour of any aspirant.

The panel pointed out that although there was substantial compliance with rules during the primary, “that consideration may not be sufficient reason to ignore such serious and weighty, identified irregularities”.

“In view of the change mantra of this administration, it is pertinent that the party blazes the trail by refusing to condone a less than perfect exercise. We, therefore, formally submit our recommendations for the National Working Committee (NWC) to use its discretionary powers in line with the APC constitution and the Electoral Act to arrive at a final decision,” the committee said.

No fewer than 24 aspirants participated in the primary conducted at the Dome, Akure, the state capital on September 3. The exercise, which was widely condemned by party chieftains and observers, was supervised by Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru.

The committee received six petitions. The complaints came from three aspirants; Chief Olusola Oke, Dr. Olusegun Abraham and Prof. Ajayi Boroffice; the Chairman of Ondo Central APC, Mr. Adegboyega Adedipe, his Ondo East counterpart, Mr. Akintunde Temitope, and Mrs. Toyin Ajinde, a delegate.

Oke, a lawyer who called for the nullification of the primary, alleged that the confusion started before the shadow poll when he received two delegates’ lists, adding that non-delegates were hired and financially induced to vote.

Rejecting the results, Abraham called for a fresh poll, saying that 157 fake names were injected into the delegates’ list. He also alleged that some delegates voted twice because of lack of thumb printing ink after voting.

Boroffice said the primary was not credible because the delegates’ list was fraudulent, adding that the improper accreditation of delegates dented the process. He urged the committee to cancel the primary and order a fresh one.

In his petition titled: “A call for the nullification of the fraud-ridden primary,’ Temitope alleged that 64 fake delegates from his zone voted. He said accreditation and voting should have taken place at the same venue to prevent fraud.

Ajinde, the Ondo South Women Leader, said it was unimaginable that her name was omitted on the delegates’ list, adding that she was prevented from voting.

However, Akeredolu, who also appeared before the committee, said the delegates’ list was authentic. He also denied tampering with the accreditation, saying that he had no hand in the distribution of delegates tags.

The committee observed that the delegates’ list was a bone of contention, stressing that its content was disputed and its late distribution enraged many aspirants and party members.

On the late release of the list, the committee said: “The late distribution, the aspirant claimed, didn’t afford them sufficient time to lobby delegates. The situation was further compounded by the appearance of strange names of persons they couldn’t easily locate.”

Faulting the accreditation process, the panel said the confession of non-delegates on the television that they were hired from the streets to rig for a particular candidate cast doubt on the credibility of the process.

It added: “Equally disturbing is the public perception of the primary. there have been so many negative reports on this exercise all over the print, electronic and social media…A party founded on a platform of due process and which prides itself with zero tolerance for corruption and fraud, cannot be seen to condone illegality.”


http://thenationonlineng.net/apc-panel-recommends-fresh-ondo-governorship-primary/

Congrats to PDP in advance

Eyitayo Jegede should go and give testimony in church abeg, God don do am for him

hehehe

OLUSOLA OKE, all the way

Bad market for APC in Ondo State

Congratzzzzzzz to PDP for winning the Ondo State Governorship election even before the election

test

Eyitayo just go and sleep, no need of thinking over this election. This election will be the easiest election for pdp in the history of Nigeria. Joke with Ondo State election by imposing a candidate and you will see the reaction of my people. Ondo town, Akure, Okitipupa etc everybody dey sing Eyitayo

Pdp....power!!!!!!

Zombie matter ... let the brain dead bury the brain dead

This will end up being another APC's greatest undoing.Why not not allow internal democracy to thrive? All these is happening because Tinubu's preferred candidate lost the primaries.This action will work against them no doubt about that.

Is this new administration ever going to be able to conduct one credible election?

There should be a new primary or a kind of consensus arrangement where a neutral candidate outside the aggrieved ones will be chosen but widely accepted by them.



Aketi's conduct since the primary election is nothing to write home about.

[/b]"Faulting the accreditation process, the panel said the confession of non-delegates on the television that they were hired from the streets to rig for a particular candidate cast doubt on the credibility of the process.

It added: “Equally disturbing is the public perception of the primary. there have been so many negative reports on this exercise all over the print, electronic and social media…A party founded on a platform of due process and which prides itself with zero tolerance for corruption and fraud, cannot be seen to condone illegality.”[b] This is a gross self indictment on the APC.Abi na PDP conduct the primaries for them?

shukuokukobambl:
Congrats to PDP in advance

Eyitayo Jegede should go and give testimony in church abeg, God don do am for him

Seriously , I don't think they have any other choice than to conduct another round of primary. The strength of the aspirants working against Aketi far outweigh those on his side and Aketi himself has shown that he can't be a good crisis manager.

Immediately he was announced as the party's candidate he should've reached out to his co-contestants and massage their ego instead he still go abusing them.


As at yesterday if you check his official Facebook wall you will think he is actually one of those that lost out at the primary.

Eyitayo Jegede already won the race..

Paperwhite:
This will end up being another APC's greatest undoing.Why not not allow internal democracy to thrive? All these is happening because Tinubu's preferred candidate lost the primaries.This action will work against them no doubt about that.

I'm sure you didn't read the report. You allowed your hatred for Tinubu to cloud your sense of judgment and justice.
The party gave a list to all candidates for the candidates to lobby them before election,the candidates did that but on election day, a new list of delegates criminally surfaced with all the efforts of the candidates wasted and some Akeredolu guy benefited from the votes of the strange names criminally introduced in the list and you want the other candidates to keep quiet?
The APC appeal committee should have gone ahead to reccommend that people who introduced fake names a la PDP style into the original delegates list be fished out and appropriately sanctioned.
Those criminals in the APC are the real enemies of democracy.
This is how they created problem for APC in kogi and the usurper Governor now moves around with masked bodyguards

Paperwhite:
[/b]"Faulting the accreditation process, the panel said the confession of non-delegates on the television that they were hired from the streets to rig for a particular candidate cast doubt on the credibility of the process.

It added: “Equally disturbing is the public perception of the primary. there have been so many negative reports on this exercise all over the print, electronic and social media…A party founded on a platform of due process and which prides itself with zero tolerance for corruption and fraud, cannot be seen to condone illegality.”[b] This is a gross self indictment on the APC.Abi na PDP conduct the primaries for them?

At least they are determined to correct the anomalies noted during the conduct of the primary against all odds.

kudos to them.

Paperwhite:
This will end up being another APC's greatest undoing.Why not not allow internal democracy to thrive? All these is happening because Tinubu's preferred candidate lost the primaries.This action will work against them no doubt about that.

It is like Tinubu's shadow is pursuing some of you in your dreams ? Tinubu's alleged candidate was the first aspirant to congratulate Aketi after the poll until the burble bursted on Aketi and his fraud was exposed.


If it's all about Abraham what about Oke. Boroffice ? These are the three contestants whose combined votes will conveniently dwarf the votes of the other 21 contestants in the primary election.

congratulations to pdp in advance,we would win edo,ondo nd imo.
2019 would be so interesting,cause it's north VS north

kayzat:
There should be a new primary or a kind of consensus arrangement where a neutral candidate outside the aggrieved ones will be chosen but widely accepted by them.



Aketi's conduct since the primary election is nothing to write home about.

Democracy doesn't work like that. Let the real candidate of the party emerged.It was this kind of consensus thingy that made Yomi Edu lose to Pa Michael Otedola in Lagos State some years back. They are targeting Tinubu when they should be lobbying the candidates so if they are allowed, trust me, they are just acting as spoilers to the advantage of their opponents.
I read in the telegraph newspaper that this Ondo problem is being caused by Abuja based politicians like Fayemi, Fashola backed by APC governors El Rufai and Ibikunle Amosun who are not on ground

the beginning of the end for APC.. lol

APC and wuruwuru.

APC does not believe in democracy.

Businessideas:

Democracy doesn't work like that. Let the real candidate of the party emerged.It was this kind of consensus thingy that made Yomi Edu lose to Pa Michael Otedola in Lagos State some years back. They are targeting Tinubu when they should be lobbying the candidates so if they are allowed, trust me, they are just acting as spoilers to the advantage of their opponents.
I read in the telegraph newspaper that this Ondo problem is being caused by Abuja based politicians like Fayemi, Fashola backed by APC governors El Rufai and Ibikunle Amosun who are not on ground

You can't blame the aggrieved aspirants for all this . The delegates list was manipulated for sure but the real problem is inability or refusal of Aketi to reach out to his fellow contestants . He was busy making unnecessary enemies for himself before and after the primary . As at yesterday the man was still abusing everyone and not only his follow aspirants this time around . Abraham already congratulated him and Boroffice was aggrieved but he said he will abide by the party's decision but Aketi failed to reach out to them and instead he was waiting for them to come and prostrate for him .


As it stand now those aspirants have little to lose because they can't be the governor but they will make or mar Aketi's chance of winning the election.

Aketi is on his own,he doesn't have the needed political structure to win election in Ondo State, the man is not mature,his level of maturity does not have direct relationship with his age and he talks anyhow without thinking about the consequence of his statement.

kayzat:





You can't blame the aggrieved aspirants for all this . The delegates list was manipulated for sure but the real problem is inability or refusal of Aketi to reach out to his fellow contestants . He was busy making unnecessary enemies for himself before and after the primary . As at yesterday the man was still abusing everyone and not only his follow aspirants this time around . Abraham already congratulated him and Boroffice was aggrieved but he said he will abide by the party's decision but Aketi failed to reach out to them and instead he was waiting for them to come and prostrate for him .


As it stand now those aspirants have little to lose because they can't be the governor but they will make or mar Aketi's chance of winning the election.

Who says they can not be governor or Aketi will be the candidate? Some people in APC are already coming to their senses.
In a bid to spite Tinubu,they created problem for themselves in Kogi state,Edo state is already shaking off their hands now in Ondo,they want to choose a candidate without democracy?