Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo South Senatorial District has lost the fight to return to the Senate.
He was defeated by Dr Kola Balogun of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Balogun scored 105,720 votes to trump Ajimobi, who recorded 92,579 votes. The PDP candidate won with a margin of 13,141. The African Democratic Party candidate, Senator Soji Akanbi, came third with 49,437 votes.
Oyo South Senatorial District comprises nine local government areas.
The PDP candidate cleared Ibadan North, Ibadan North-West, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan North-East, Ibarapa North and Ibarapa East and while Ajimobi won in Ibarapa Central, Ibadan South-West and Ido local government areas.
Announcing the result on Monday after about 15 hours of hectic collation at Ibadan North Secretariat, the Returning Officer, Prof Kolawole Akinsola of the University of Ibadan, declared Balogun winner of the poll amidst fully armed security operatives on the premises.
He said: “I, Prof Wole Akinsola, the Returning Officer for the Oyo South Senatorial District, declare that Kola Balogun of PDP, having satisfied the number required by the law, is the winner of the February 23 election and is returned elected.”
But the APC collation agent, Dr Abdulazeez Olatunde, rejected the result. He stated that violence marred the polls in three wards within Ibadan South-East and filed a petition, requesting that the election be declared inconclusive.
The returning officer said he could not declare it inconclusive on the basis of petition filed by the APC, noting that it would be forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission for appropriate actions.
