By Akin Amos
The campaign organisation of Mr. Abayomi Semako Hunye has rejected the outcome of the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election, insisting that the declared results did not reflect the true wishes of participating party members.
In a re-joinder issued on behalf of the Abayomi Semako Hunye Campaign and Supporters’ Movement, the group faulted the public declaration of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola as winner of the gubernatorial primary with 304,055 votes, claiming victory with 453,765 votes as against the zero votes reportedly credited to him.
According to the statement, the organisation described the declaration as unacceptable, stressing that information collated by its party representatives across the 236 wards in the State is inconsistent as it indicated that Hunye secured 453,765 votes as against the 304,055 votes announced for Senator Adeola.
The campaign stressed that Hunye was a duly screened, cleared, and recognised aspirant of the APC before the conduct of the governorship primary election, and the figures publicly released could not be regarded as conclusive proof of a free, fair, credible, or uncontested democratic exercise.
It maintained that the aspirant actively participated in the process despite what it described as earlier attempts and allegations allegedly aimed at frustrating his candidacy.
The statement expressed concern over what it called widespread complaints from supporters regarding intimidation, harassment, restriction of participation, and disruption of mobilisation efforts in several locations across the state.
According to the organisation, such developments allegedly prevented genuine voting opportunities in some areas during the exercise.
The campaign also questioned the credibility of the declaration that gave Hunye zero votes despite his active participation in the primary process, arguing that the outcome raised serious questions that required objective internal review by the party leadership as it requested clarification on the basis upon which votes were allegedly allocated or excluded in the final computation.
The group further called for disclosure of complaints and incidents recorded across various wards during the exercise, as well as methodology used for accreditation and collation during the primary election to determine whether all aspirants and their supporters were given equal opportunities to participate in the process.
The organisation noted that reports circulating from certain local government areas appeared inconsistent with the final statewide declaration announced by the party, saying that such discrepancies should be investigated through lawful party and constitutional channels rather than dismissed.
Describing the situation as “political rascality” and an “abuse of democratic principles”, the campaign said the re-joinder was aimed at setting the record straight and defending the integrity of the APC, insisting that it would pursue all constitutional and legal options available to challenge the process and ots outcome that failed to reflect what it called the genuine will of participating party members and its claimed lawful votes of 453,765.
The organisation therefore appealed to supporters to remain peaceful, law-abiding, and resolute while awaiting further actions by the campaign leadership.
