Okupe in a statement he posted on his Facebook wall said the former Lagos State Governor may be losing his political influence over the party in the southwest, following the loss of his preferred candidate in the election.
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Mr. Abraham, in a congratulatory message issued on Sunday in Akure, conceded victory to Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, who emerged as the governorship candidate of the opposition party in the State.
The primary election was contested by 23 aspirants and won by Rotimi Akeredolu, 60, in a keenly contested election that saw him polling 669 votes.
He said: “My special regards and admiration for Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, the Governor of Jigawa state, and his team for their sterling quality and integrity in conducting the primary”.
“I also thank my teeming supporters for showing maximum solidarity throughout the campaign till now”.
ONE of the aspirants, who participated in Saturday’s governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday kicked against the outcome, alleging that names of hundreds of non-delegates was smuggled into the delegates’ list.
He said, “I want to thank the people of Ondo State for the love they gave me and I pray that the revival that I prayed for Ondo State, God will bring it back”.
Akeredolu scored six hundred and sixty nine votes to beat his closer rival Mr Olusegun Abraham who scored a total six hundred and thirty five votes.
“I want to tell the people of Ondo state that you are my people and I am your son”.
Abubakar also congratulated other aspirants for promptly conceding defeat, and urged them to team up with the victor and work together to enable the party to win the Nov.26 governorship election.
Speaking through his Campaign Director General, Bola Fisayo, he said the election was not the true reflection of the delegates that participated in the last Saturday’s primaries.
Oke, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2012 governorship election, alleged that the names of some of the delegates were removed from the delegates’ list while non-delegates were allowed to vote in the election.
He stated that the list was shown to the aspirants at the eleventh hour and there was no adequate time to scrutinise the list by most of the aspirants.
The primary election held amidst tight security and peaceful environment commenced at 12:15 p.m after the accreditation, which started at 7:00 a.m ended.
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He alleged further that about 110 names belonging to Oke’s camp were removed from both Ondo East and West Local Governments while their names were replaced with non-executive members of the party.
