Rotimi Ogunleye, Director General of the Olusola Oke Campaign, has made alarming claims regarding the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries.
According to Ogunleye, the primaries were marred by the invasion of thugs at all election centers, resulting in the disruption of the entire electoral process.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television's Sunday Politics, Rotimi Ogunleye claimed that during a stakeholders meeting of the APC, concerns were raised about the potential partiality of INEC officers allegedly affiliated with Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
He said that despite objections raised regarding the neutrality of these electoral officers, Senator Omo Ovie Agege dismissed these concerns, further exacerbating the already tense situation.
Ogunleye characterized the APC primary as a meticulously orchestrated process destined for failure from the outset, indicating a systemic flaw in the electoral management.
The chairman of the election committee, Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa the winner of the APC primary in the early hours of Monday, amidst controversy and allegations of foul play.
Aiyedatiwa's victory swept through 16 out of the 18 local government areas, with a staggering 48,569 votes in his favour.
His closest rival, Mayowa Akinfolarin, garnered 15,347 votes, while Olusola Oke secured the third position with 14,865 votes.
Despite Aiyedatiwa's decisive win, there are suspicions over the integrity of the primary election process.
Rotimi Ogunleye said, "Thugs invaded all the election centres in Akure, and elections could not hold.
"We complained at a stakeholders meeting that the INEC officers were agents of Aiyedatiwa. They were going to be electoral officers, even where the governor would participate.
"One of the aspirants pointed this out to Senator Omo Ovie Agege, saying that these electoral officers were known persons supporting a particular aspirant, and they disregarded that.
"What we witnessed on Saturday was nothing but an arranged process that was skewed to fail from the beginning. Thugs invaded all the polling units, and they didn't allow us to vote.''
Watch the interview video here (start from 18:44).