Ondo poll: LP candidate blames Obi, NLC for defeat

The reinstated Labour Party governorship candidate in Ondo State, Ayodele Olorunfemi, has bemoaned his failure to win Saturday’s election, blaming former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, and the Nigeria Labour Congress for his predicament.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the ruling All Progressives Congress was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission after sweeping the 18 local government areas in Ondo.

In the final declaration of the result by the State Returning Officer, Prof Olayemi Akinwumi, he said APC’s Ayedatiwa polled a total of 366,781 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi of the PDP, who got 117,845 votes.

The Returning Officer said, “That Ayedatiwa Lucky Orimisan of APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby returned elected.”

Olorunfemi’s loss comes a few days after INEC returned his name on the ballot as LP flag bearer for the November 16 poll, following a ruling by the Court of Appeal.

Following weeks of suspense, Olorunfemi heaved a sigh of relief when the Court of Appeal in Abuja vacated an earlier judgment by the Federal High Court ordering the electoral umpire to recognise Obi’s anointed candidate, Olusola Ebiseni.

Reacting in an interview with The PUNCH, Olorunfemi vowed not to forgive the former LP presidential candidate and the NLC for the role they played in scuttling his Ondo governorship campaign.

When asked if he succeeded in having a last-minute door-to-door campaign with his supporters after winning his appeal, a saddened LP flag bearer confessed that his campaign for the election was neither here nor there.

He said, “I have Peter Obi and the NLC to thank for that. They have scuttled my aspirations and chances to win this Ondo election. These people spoilt things for us with that PDP reject they wanted to force on the party. Their insistence on having Ebiseni on the ballot ruined everything for me.

“They just capitalised on the crisis between the Labour Party and the Nigeria Labour Congress to create problems. Can you imagine that Ebiseni wrote a letter to the court in my name without my knowledge, saying I have withdrawn from the race? They cannot exclude me from such a position.”