BY OLUMIDE ABUDU AND BUKOLA BARDI
Eleven Aspirants will now jostle for the APC party’s ticket as against the initial twelve following the withdrawal of Mr Ifeoluwa Oyedele from the race in less than eighteen hours to the exercise.
The Primary Election comes up on Monday , 20th July
Mr Oyedele , a Frontline aspirant stepped down over what he described as his love for the party and the need to support Governor Akeredolu in his drive to further develop the state thus brightening Governor’s chances.
The remaining Aspirants to slug it out with the incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu are Mr Isaacs Kekemeke, Chief Olayide Adelami, Chief Olusola Oke, Ambassador Olusola Iji and Mrs Jumoke Ajasin Anifowose who happens to be the only woman in the race.
Others are, Dr Segun Abraham, Prince Jimi Odimayo, Chief Bukola Adetula, Mr Akinola Awodeyi- Akinsehinwa and Dr Nat Adojutelegan.
Similarly, Two thousand five hundred Delegates participating in the election are drawn from the eighteen local government areas of the state as confirmed by the APC Director of Publicity, Alex Kalejaye.
“There would be 12 delegates from each of the 203 wards, 72 from the state executive. We have delegates from local government areas” Kalejaye Said.
He continued “We have House of Assembly and National Assembly members as automatic delegates. We also have special delegates,”
According to the APC spokesman, the exercise will hold centrally at the international cultural and event centre, The Dome along Igbatoro in Akure, the state capital.
At the end of the exercise, whoever emerges becomes the flagbearer of the party for the October 10 governorship poll.
In a build up to the primary election, the mode to be adopted for the exercise generated a heat within the party as most of the aspirants advocated Direct mode.
Apart from the issue of mode for the exercise, the party was also having a few other issues and to ensure that all these were settled before the exercise,
a peace meeting put up by the national leadership of the APC chaired by Niger state governor , Dr Abubakar Bello met with aspirants to enable them settle some gray areas.
The governorship primary electoral committee is chaired by the Governor of Kogi state, Mr Yahaya Bello.
Meanwhile, in the last one week, the social media platforms have been awash with campaigns in line with INEC directives which were against gathering of crowd as a result of Covid19 pandemic ravaging the world.
Ondo State governorship Election is on October 10 , 2020