Eleven of the 12 aspirants seeking the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State have rejected the indirect mode of primary adopted for the July 20 primary in the state.
Only incumbent Governor Rotimi Akeredolu was left out of the arrangement.
In a letter signed by the governorship aspirants to the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, in Abuja on Friday, the aspirants requested the party to adopt direct primary for the nomination of its governorship flag bearer.
The letter was signed by Joseph Olusola Iji, Odimayo Okunjimi, Olayide Owolabi Adelami, Issacs Duerimini Kekemeke, Olusola Oke, Ifeoluwa 0yedele and Olajumoke Olubusola.
Others are Awodeyi Akinsehinwa, Akinola Colinus, Olubukola Adetula, Dr Abraham Olusegun Michael and Dr Nathaniel Adojutelegan.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Thursday published on its website that the APC had adopted indirect mode for the governorship primary.
The 11 governorship aspirants said: “Having interfaced with party members as aspirants, we can confidently inform you that overwhelming majority of our party members prefer Direct Primary for the nomination of the party’s candidate for the 2020 governorship election.
“It is our position that adopting Indirect Primary Election in Ondo State, given the prevailing mood and circumstances is hazardous and result to litigations which will not help our party.
“We most humbly insist that Direct Primary be adopted as was peacefully utilised in Edo, Osun, Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States.”
According to them, the direct primary will provide a level playing ground for all aspirants and assist in no small measure in mobilising party members to own the candidature of whoever emerges from the process.
“The consequence of knowingly opening the race to all willing members of the party by allowing them to invest time, energy and huge resources only to hand over victory to one of the aspirants by adopting a mode only favourable to that aspirant, is too grave to imagine given the prevailing mode generally in the state and particularly in the party,” they said.
