After almost twenty-four hours of voting and counting of
ballots, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, former Accountant General of Lagos,
emerged winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship
primaries in Lagos by a landslide on Friday morning.
The governorship primary was held at Onikan Stadium, Lagos Island, southwest Nigeria.
Ambode polled 3,735 votes out of the total valid votes of 5,725 cast to defeat 11 other aspirants .
The
results were announced by Dr. Peter Obada, a representative of the APC
National Primaries Committee around 8.13 am on Friday after counting was
done all through the night.
Following Ambode in second
position is the Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure,
Dr. Kadri Hamzat, who polled 1,201 votes.
Senator Ganiu
Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, came third after scoring 272 votes while the
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforji came
fourth with 182 votes.
Former Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice, Supo Sasore came 5th after polling 121 votes,
while the former Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr. Leke Pitan
was 6th with 112 votes.
Others are former Commissioner
for Special Duties, Dr. Tola Kasali, 69 votes; Tayo Ayinde, former Chief
Detail to former Governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, 17 votes; Adekunle
Idris, nine votes and Tokunbo Wahab, seven votes.
Mrs Tokunbo Tobun-Agbesanwa, Abayomi Sutton and Lanre Ope got no votes.
Announcing
the results, Obada said he was highly impressed by the people of Lagos
and what the leadership of the party put in place to ensure a smooth
primary election in the most transparent manner.
“We tried as much as possible to be fair to all,” he said, while commending the aspirants for their maturity, saying that in every contest, there must always be a winner.
He said if any aspirant was not satisfied with the result, such person should go to the committee set up by the party.
Obada disclosed that 5,959 voters were accredited while 5,815 voted, with a valid vote of 5,724 and an invalid vote of 91.
Obada said since Ambode scored 3,735 votes “he is hereby declared winner,” to the joy of his supporters at the event.
There
were jubilation all around Onikan Stadium as the popular song, “stand
up for the champion,” rent the air, with party supporters brandishing
APC’s symbol, the broom.
Speaking after the victory,
Ambode said the accepted the victory with deep sense of gratitude, while
commending the contestants for putting up a good contest.
Ambode
extended his hand of fellowship to other aspirants, not only to win
next year’s election, but to move Lagos forward to grester heights.
The
governorship primary started on Thursday at the Onikan Stadium where
over 5,000 delegates converged to choose the governorship candidate that
will fly the banner of the party in 2015 gubernatorial election in
Lagos.
Governorship aspirants at the venue were Olasupo
Sasore, Senator Ganiu Solomon, Dr Leke Pitan, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Dr
Kadri Hamzat, Lanre Ope, Dr Tola Kasali, Abayomi Sutton,
Tobun-Agbesanwa, Tokunbo Wahab and Tayo Ayinde.
At
about 12.59 p.m, Akinwunmi Ambode came to the venue of the primaries to a
tumultous reception as the party leadership announced the closure of
accreditation in preparation for the commencement of voting.
APC
leaders at the venue were Chief Henry Ajomale, Dr Olorunnimbe Mamora,
Olufemi Pedro, Gbenga Ashafa, Abiodun Ogunleye, Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo,
Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, among others, while Lagos Commissioner for
Police, Kayode Aderanti was at the venue to supervise his men to
maintain adequate security.
Chairman, APC, Lagos State,
Ajomale said the task before the aspirants was not going to be easy,
but noted that all aspirants were qualified to represent the party at
the governorship election.
“But only one of you will
emerge among 13 of you. You are all respected leaders of the party, but
remember that only one of you will emerge. There is no winner, no
vanquish, you are from the same family. Whatever result we have today,
know that it is not a do or die affair. Let the battle begin,” he said.
Earlier, Obada who moderated the election said the APC is a party set to
change things in Nigeria.
In the light of this, he said “charity must begin from our own bedroom. Lagos has been a model for democracy.
“I
counsel you that we behave in orderly manner so that we do not cancel
the credibility we have earned. Lagos State has lots of goodwill when it
comes to democracy.”
According to him, aspirants had
the right to complain and make recommendation to a committee that had
been set up for that purpose. He said the primary purpose of the APC was
to capture power at the centre as the PDP had sent the nation into
mourning because unrighteous people were in power.
Before
voting began, Ajomale came to the podium to announce that a text
message had been sent to delegates using his name and claiming that he
had asked them to vote for a particular aspirant.
“I
did not send text message or tell anybody to vote for certain aspirant,
all the delegates are mine. Vote according to your conscience, I
denounce that text message openly here,” he said.
Ajomale
said he forfeited his right to vote for the candidate of his choice in
view of the allegations levelled against him, while describing the text
messages as fraudulent.
National leader of the APC,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had earlier charged all the governorship aspirants
of the party in Lagos to accept the result of the primaries whenever it
is announced in order to move the party forward.
The
former governor, who was not at the event, but his speech was read by
the Lagos Publicity Secretary of the party, Joe Igbokwe, said over 6,000
delegates had gathered to choose a governorship candidate among the 12
aspirants, saying the event marked the beginning of the march for
democracy.
Commending the aspirants for playing the
game with decorum, Tinubu reminded them that only one of them would
emerge winner at the end of the day.
“All of you are
qualified but only one of you will win. We must join hands together to
ensure the party wins at the general elections.
“The
way you conduct yourself will determine how Lagos State presents itself.
All of you should comport yourselves and accept the result of the
primaries as the choice of the party,” he said, adding that the party
had worked tirelessly to make “today possible.”
According
to Tinubu, the ememies of the party laid in wait to see if the APC
would fail, urging the aspirants that none of them should tear the
party.
“No one should tear down, let us put the enemies to shame and remain as one big family,” he appealed to the contestants.
Lagos APC Gov Aspirants And Votes Scored
•Akinwunmi Ambode ———————– 3,735 votes
•Dr. Kadri Hamzat ————————– 1,201 Votes
•Sen. Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon——— 272 votes
•Adeyemi Ikuforji ————————— 182 votes
•Supo Shasore ——————————- 121 votes
•Dr. Leke Pitan —————————– 112 votes
•Dr. Tola Kasali —————————– 69 votes
•Tayo Ayinde ——————————– 17 votes
•Adekunle Idris —————————— 9 votes
•Tokunbo Wahab ————————– 7 votes
•Mrs Tokunbo Tobun-Agbesanwa ——– Zero vote
•Abayomi Sutton ————————— Zero vote
•Lanre Ope ——————————– Zero vote
•Total valid votes cast——————- 5,725
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