A top aspirant in last weekend’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Osun State, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, has urged the party’s leadership in Abuja to declare him winner.
Apart from claiming to have scored the highest lawful votes cast, contrary to what was announced, Ogunbiyi faulted the educational qualification of Senator Ademola Adeleke, who was declared winner.
Ogunbiyi told reporters yesterday in Abuja that he was at the party’s national secretariat to petition its leadership over the result of the primary which produced Adeleke as the standard bearer for the September 22 poll.
The PDP chieftain narrowly lost to Adeleke, polling 1,562 votes as against 1,569 votes by the latter.
In a petition addressed to the Chairman, Governorship Electoral Appeal Panel of the PDP, the aspirant said 42 voided votes and 128 unaccounted votes were for him.
He added that the total votes he garnered at the poll were 1,732.
“I, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, having polled the highest number of votes in the primary election of July 21, be declared the validly nominated/ elected PDP governorship candidate for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Osun,” he said.
Ogunbiyi also called for the disqualification of Adeleke, based on the faulted process of the primary.
He added: “Contrary to Section 30, Sub-Section ‘E’ of the Electoral Guidelines for primary election 2018, the total number of delegates accredited was not announced before the commencement of voting.”
Ogunbiyi alleged that the document submitted by Adeleke as evidence of his educational qualification up to school certificate level did not meet the basic qualification stipulated by the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He said: “The Principal of Muslim Grammar School, Ede, Mr Khalid Abbas, who purportedly signed the Testimonial, had not been posted to the school as at the date indicated on the document.
“The principal has denied ever issuing or signing it and the denial is very well on record.”
