Ohunyeye, Ibrahim, Oke, others pick nomination forms

Ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election scheduled for 25 April 2024, one of the governorship aspirants, Olamide Ohunyeye, has picked his expression of interest and nomination forms of the party.

According to the party, the expression of interest form costs N10 million while the nomination form costs N40 million.

Mr Ohunyeye, a retired brigadier general, disclosed the purchase of the forms in a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday.

The aspirant, who once served as the director of finance of the Nigerian Defence Academy, said:

“I am glad to announce that I have obtained my expression of interest and nomination forms at the national headquarters of our party in Abuja today. I outlined my intention and plans to transform Ondo State to an industrial hub using our resources.

“I also called on the party leadership to provide a level playing ground for all aspirants as we approach the date of the primary,” he said.

Mr Ohunyeye noted that purchase of the forms was a major step in restating his commitment to the liberation of the people and his determination to govern the state with purpose and fear of God.

He added that what sets him apart from the other aspirants is his experience and passion for the Ondo people.

In an earlier interview with this newspaper, Mr Ohunyeye had declared that the leader of the party, President Bola Tinubu, would not impose any aspirant on the party.

Mr Tinubu has yet to make any categorical endorsement, even as the aspirants continue to lobby him through proxies and associates, seeking his open support for their aspiration.

However, Mr Ohunyeye is not the only aspirant who has picked his forms ahead of the primary election.

Other aspirants who have also purchased their forms include the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Olusola Oke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; the immediate past commissioner for finance, Wale Akinterinwa, and former special adviser to late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on health, Dayo Faduyile.

Mayowa Akinfolarin, a former two-term member of the House of Representatives and ex-deputy speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Jimoh Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South in the 10th Senate, and the incumbent member representing Irele/Okitipupa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Jimi Odimayo have also got their forms.

The immediate past national commissioner representing the South-west on the board of the National Population Commission, Diran Iyantan, the son of a former senator, Soji Ehinlanwo; a former chairperson of OSOPADEC, Gbenga Edema; the South-west chairperson of the APC, Isaac Kekemeke, and the only female aspirant, Funmi Waheed-Adekojo, have also purchased their forms.

Mrs Waheed-Adekojo only paid N10m for the expression of interest form, as she was exempted from paying for the nomination form pegged at N40m based on an existing rule of the party, which exempts women and people living with disabilities from buying the nomination forms to promote inclusion.

Aspirants yet to buy forms

Findings by this newspaper indicate that Collins Olagundoye, a media consultant, has yet to buy his forms, though he has repeatedly mentioned that he would purchase the necessary forms to show his readiness to participate in the primaries and win the ticket.

Clement Akintola-Arikawe, a lawyer and in-law to Bisi Akande, a former national chairperson of the APC, has not also picked his forms despite making a grand announcement of his intention to vie for the ticket.

Barring any extension of the date of sale of forms, the National Secretariat of the party had fixed 3 April as the closing date.

Rumbling over endorsement of Aiyedatiwa by ‘aborigines’ of the party

Meanwhile, the Ondo State chapter of the party is currently enmeshed in another round of rumbling over the endorsement of Governor Aiyedatiwa by some leaders of the party who called themselves the party aborigines

The leaders, led by a former ambassador to Togo, Sola Iji, had recently endorsed Mr Aiyedatiwa among the aspirants jostling for the ticket.

The endorsement, Mr Iji said, followed a sequence of events, which included a screening of the aspirants by a committee set up by the aborigines after which the group decided on Mr Aiyedatiwa.

The group reportedly said Governor Aiyedatiwa came tops of the screening with Paul Akintelure, who unfortunately died before picking his forms last month, coming second while Mr Akinterinwa came third.

The endorsement, much as it has attracted applause from the governor’s quarters, has also attracted criticisms from those who are opposed to him within the party.

Two aspirants, Messrs Akinterinwa and Oke, through the spokespersons of their campaign organisations, have condemned the endorsement, describing it as laughable.

The duo remarked that the aborigines have always been open supporters of Governor Aiyedatiwa.

Besides the aborigines, 14 members of the APC caucus in the state House of Assembly have also endorsed the governor, though the action of the lawmakers also generated a mixed bag of condemnation and commendation.