APC Risks 2027 Defeat, Ondo APC Senatorial Aspirant, Ajipe Warns

Fidelis David in Akure 

An aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ondo North Senatorial primary, Alex Ajipe, on Wednesday warned that the ruling party could suffer serious political setbacks ahead of the 2027 general elections if alleged injustices and imposition surrounding the recently conducted primary election are not addressed.

Ajipe, who rejected the declaration of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye as winner of the APC Ondo North Senatorial Primary held on Monday, accused party leaders of undermining internal democracy through what he described as “vote allocation” and manipulation of the process.

At the APC State Secretariat in Akure, the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Hon. Iboroma Harry Dabibi, had on Tuesday night announced Gbenga Elegbeleye as winner of the senatorial primary after polling 28,062 votes, Ajipe Alex secured 17,313 votes, while the incumbent Senator, Olajide Ipinsagba recorded 9,819 votes. Also, Adeogun Adejoro polled 3,845 votes, Abdul Tunji Muhammed secured 1,076 votes, while Michael Adeyanju recorded 640 votes."

However, speaking during a press briefing in Owo under the platform of the Ajipe Democratic Movement (ADM), the APC chieftain said the conduct of the exercise was capable of alienating grassroots supporters and repeating the party’s past electoral mistakes in the state.

“The party risks repeating history. In 2015, with no APC Governor in Ondo, we won the presidential election overwhelmingly. In 2019, with an APC Governor, we lost. If this injustice stands, Mr. President may become the biggest victim again in 2027.”

The aspirant described the exercise conducted in the four Akoko local government areas as a sham, insisting that no credible election took place. “The Ajipe Democratic Movement categorically rejects the purported declaration of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye as the winner of the APC Ondo North Senatorial Primary. What happened in the four Akoko local governments was not an election. It was allocation of votes in broad daylight", he declared.

Ajipe alleged that collation and returning officers in Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West and Akoko South East abandoned the official process after directing party members to record results on plain sheets of paper with assurances that they would later be transferred to official result sheets.

According to him, the officers disappeared shortly after collecting the papers and failed to appear at the designated local government and senatorial collation centres.

“In Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West and Akoko South East, collation and returning officers deceived APC members to write results on plain sheets of paper with the promise of transferring them to official result sheets at the LG collation centre,” he alleged.

“After collecting the papers, the officers disappeared. They never showed up at the LG collation centres nor at the statutory senatorial headquarters collation point in Owo. Different versions of results then flooded social media before Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye was eventually declared winner online.”

The aspirant maintained that before the disruption of the process, results from several areas indicated that different aspirants were leading in their respective strongholds.

“A fair assessment of events before the disruption showed that I was leading in Akoko South East; Hon. Ade Adeogun was clearly leading in Akoko South West; Hon. Jide Ipinsagba was leading in Akoko North West, followed by Engr. Mike Adeyanju and myself.

“In Akoko North East, Hon. Jide Ipinsagba and Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye were head-to-head, followed by Chief Abdul. Before these standings could be formally collated, the returning and collation officers disappeared and voting ended abruptly ” Ajipe stated.

He further claimed that the exercise lacked proper electoral procedures, alleging absence of accreditation, voting materials and lawful collation.

“No materials, no accreditation, no voting, no proper collation. This is an assault on democracy and a direct insult to APC members who turned out in good faith,” he added.

Ajipe also accused the Ondo State Governor of masterminding what he termed “undemocratic tendencies,” alleging that the process was hijacked in favour of a preferred aspirant.

“The entire process was hijacked and handed over to the Governor’s political associates and his anointed aspirant,” he alleged.

He claimed that the APC primary committee and its technical team, appointed by the party’s National Secretariat to supervise the exercise across the three senatorial districts, became divided and eventually abandoned their responsibilities.

“The committee split into two factions, one headed by the chairman and another by the secretary, abandoned its responsibility and ceded everything to the Governor’s camp. When the party’s own panel is fractured and compromised, what hope is there for fairness?” he queried.

Despite his grievances, Ajipe commended the Minister of Interior for what he described as efforts to maintain peace and fairness during the process.

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