Two factions of the Ogun Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held parallel governorship primaries in Abeokuta on Wednesday to elect governorship flag bearers for the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
The faction which had the state party executives on ground held its primaries at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) where Ladi Adebutu emerged as the candidate.
The other faction which produced Segun Sowunmi, former spokesman for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its governorship candidate held its primaries at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abeokuta.
Adebutu, who once represented Remo North Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives defeated three other contestants.
The exercise was supervised by a 5-man Electoral Committee from the National Headquarters headed by Prof. Akase Sorkaa.
Announcing the result of the election at exactly 10:50pm , Sorkaa said Adebutu polled 714 votes to defeat Sowunmi, Jimi Lawal and Abimbola Abodunrin who all polled zero vote.
He encouraged all the delegates to elect candidates that would be acceptable to the people.
In his acceptance speech, Adebutu expressed satisfaction on the conduct of the exercise, saying he was happy with his election as the candidate of the party.
He noted that it was high time an environment of hope was created.
Earlier, in the parallel election that produced Sowunmi, the chairman of the electoral committee, Mr Abayomi Daniel announced Sowunmi the winner of the election after the votes were counted.
Abayomi said Sowunmi contested against two other aspirants, Lawal and Adebutu who were not physically present but were represented by their agents at the primaries.
According to him, Sowunmi polled 555 votes to defeat his closest rival, Lawal, who scored 30 votes while Adebutu polled 15 votes.
According to Daniel, a total number of 778 delegates were accredited, 702 votes cast, while three votes were voided.
“By the power conferred on me by the national leadership of our great party as the chairman electoral committee of the PDP governorship primary election in Ogun, I declare Segun Sowunmi winner of the election, haven polled the highest number of votes and he is hereby returned and elected,” Daniel said.
Sowunmi in his acceptance speech, commended members of the party for their support and promised not to let them down.
He called on other aspirants to work together with him to secure victory for the party in the 2023 general elections.
“I humbly accept the nomination as candidate of the PDP,” he said.
Jajari wins Borno PDP guber primaries
Alhaji Mohammed Jajari has emerged governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 general election in Borno State.
Jajari polled 487 votes to defeat Mohammed Imam who polled 362 in the primary election held on Wednesday in Borno state.
Announcing the results, Abdulrahman Bobboi, the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Committee for Borno state, declared Jajari as the winner of the primaries having scored 487 votes.
Bobboi said that the total votes cast in the election was 849 votes.
The Chairman urged them to accept their result as a will of God noting that nobody was a winner or looser.
He urged members of the party to work together to ensure its victory in the forthcoming general elections in the state.
Jandor clinches PDP guber ticket in Lagos
The Lead Visioner, Lagos4Lagos Movement, Dr Olajide Adediran (Jandor) on Wednesday clinched the PDP ticket for the 2023 governorship election in Lagos State.
Declaring the result in Ikeja, the Chairman of the Lagos PDP Electoral Committee/Returning Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, said that Adediran scored 679 votes to defeat his contender, Mr David Vaughan who polled 20 votes.
Ogidi, who noted that there were 775 ad hoc delegates for the primaries, said that 709 were accredited for the election.
According to him, 10 votes were voided in the election.
Ogidi said: “The total number of accredited voters is 709, and Olajide Adediran got 679 votes, DAKOVA (David Kolawole Vaughan had 20 and we had 10 voided votes.
“Haven satisfied all the requirements in our guidelines, I want to announce Dr Olajide Adediran as our candidate after scoring the highest votes of 679. He is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Meanwhile, Ogidi, before announcing the result, said that delegates from Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government failed to see reasons with the committee over alleged discrepancies on delegate list.
He, however, commended the aspirants and delegates for their peaceful conduct and sportsmanship throughout the process.
“I want to thank all of you for your patience and I want to congratulate the two contestants for your spirit of sportsmanship, especially DAKOVA. He is a true sportsman,” Ogidi said.
In his victory speech, Adediran, who acknowledged the aspirants that stepped down for him and his contender, said he was ready to face the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He pledged to sit with all aspirants and leaders of the party to tap from their wealth of knowledge and experience in a bid to win Lagos state for PDP.
Adediran, who applauded all the delegates for their trust in giving him the party’s ticket, promised to bring governance to the grassroots.
Also, Vaughan, who accepted defeat, said he vied for the ticket with a well mapped out strategy to transform Lagos state.
He promised to support and back Adediran”s ambition.
Four contestants including Otunba Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, Mr Adedeji Doherty, Mr Ade Dosunmu and Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour stepped down from the race.