AKURE — A significant political move within the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) appears to have unfolded following a closed-door meeting in Lagos. According to credible sources, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has instructed the party’s national leadership to declare the true winners of the Ondo State and National Assembly primaries based strictly on the actual field results.
This directive is viewed as a crucial victory for Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, effectively countering an ambitious attempt by an anti-Aiyedatiwa faction within the party to disrupt the Ondo State party structure.
Tensions escalated leading up to the House of Representatives primary elections when an administrative directive reportedly disqualified seven prominent grassroots aspirants, all known loyalists of Governor Aiyedatiwa. This last-minute decision was perceived as a calculated effort to weaken the Governor’s influence and impose alternative candidates from Abuja.
Despite these challenges, Governor Aiyedatiwa ensured that the direct primaries proceeded smoothly across all wards, with oversight from officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Although some minor issues arose in a few local government areas, the disqualified candidates won their respective elections by substantial margins.
In light of the situation, Governor Aiyedatiwa reportedly presented the election results and monitoring reports to President Tinubu during a private meeting with the President on Tuesday. He argued that the primaries were conducted fairly and that the disqualifications were an attempt to undermine the democratic process.
In response to the evidence provided by the Governor, President Tinubu is said to have bypassed the usual bureaucratic processes and issued a direct order for the APC’s national leadership to announce the winners of all Ondo primaries based on the results from local election committees. This intervention appears to neutralise the efforts of the anti-Aiyedatiwa faction, which aimed to lay an ambush in Abuja to replace the winners with their preferred candidates, thereby reinforcing the Governor’s position within the party.
As a result of this presidential directive, it seems the faction has lost ground, with the party machinery now firmly aligned with Governor Aiyedatiwa. The anticipated announcement of the election results is expected to solidify his control over the Ondo APC, thereby shaping the political landscape in the state ahead of future elections.
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