Akala, 3 other candidates boycott Oyo PDP primary, Folarin crowned

Akala, 3 other candidates boycott Oyo PDP primary, Folarin crowned

Monday, December 8, 2014 10:17 pm



GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN

Former governor of Oyo state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala and two other aspirants boycotted the Oyo state Peoples Democratic Party governorship primary that threw up former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin.

Folarin was declared the winner, polling 167 votes out of the 198 votes that were cast by the delegates.

Engineer Seyi Makinde and former state Commissioner for Health, Isaac Owolabi were the other aspirants that boycotted boycotted the election.

In all, 211 delegates were accredited at the main bowl of the Basket Ball Court, Obafemi Awolowo Stadium (former Liberty Stadium) Oke-Ado, Ibadan, venue of the primary election out of which 10 votes were voided.

Declaring the results, the electoral committee chairman, Abba Aji disclosed that Alao-Akala polled two votes, former Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Soji Adejumo, four, former Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarunmi polled 12 and former governorship candidate under Labour Party, (LP), Azeez Adeduntan, polled three votes

It was being speculated that Alao-Akala would join the Labour Party, while Makinde appeared to favour a legal challenge of the primary.

Among the governorship aspirants, only Gbolarunmi and Adeduntan stayed till the end of the election, while others including: Taoheed Adedoja, Soji Adejumo, Ayoade Adeseun left after observing the process for a while.

Before Adejumo left, he remarked that the conduct of the election was not proper in the sense that aspirants were not allowed to present themselves to the delegates before the start of the election.

Senator Folarin, has described his election as a great honour and privilege with a promise that he would not betray the confidence reposed in him and neither would he disappoint them in anyway.

While charging his supporters to remain focused during the electioneering campaign, he said, “as good marketers and canvassers, you will be provoked in the course of campaign, you may be persecuted and you will be harassed.

“I enjoin you to remain calm in the face of all these. I want to assure you of my total commitment towards ensuring that our party wins the election.

To my fellow contestants, I commend you, the victory is for us all. You have made the journey leading to this day a unique one in our state’s political history”, he said.


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