By Daud Olatunji,Abeokuta
Mixed reactions have greeted the provisional list of the National Assembly candidates for Ogun State released on Thursday by the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of 2019 elections.
Reps probe indicted looters in N60bn Nigerian Airways fraud
The Provisional list released by INEC,obtained by Saturday Vanguard had on the senatorial list the outgoing Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who got the ticket for the Ogun Central seat, thus displacing the incumbent, Dr Lanre Tejuoso, who had expressed his intention to go for a second term.
In the other two senatorial seats in Ogun East and Ogun West, the names of Amosun’s friend, Senator Lekan Mustapha and Amosun’s Chief -of-Staff,Chief Tolu Odebiyi, were on the list respectively.
Saturday Vanguard also gathered that for Ogun West senatorial, the incumbent Gbolahan Dada, willingly opted not to seek a re-election.
In Ogun East senatorial district, the former deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun, who was equally in the race, said he wrote a petition to Appeal Committee of the party, based on his claim that there was no election in the senatorial district, but Senator Lekan Mustapha’s name came out on INEC list
Reacting to the list, the state chairman of the party, Chief Derin Adebiyi, said he was happy with the names of the candidates on the Senatorial list, but, kicked against the list of candidates for the House of Representatives, alleging that “four of our candidates’ names were substituted.”
He said, “There was no primary in the senatorial district, and I had written a petition to the Appeal Committee of the party and nothing came out, only for me to discover another name on INEC list. I have decided to let go and move on.”
However, when contacted, Mustapha rued this claim, saying that he would not respond to such “unfounded allegation,” unless he knew from whom it was coming from.
He said it was not true that there was no election, because according to him, two television stations beamed the legislative primary live.
He said, “ I don’t want to react to such unfounded allegation. If I know from whom it is coming from, I might know the appropriate reaction. Perhaps the allegation is coming from one of the losers.
“How will someone say there was no primary? Two or three television stations beamed the primary live. And there was a committee sent down from Abuja to conduct the legislative primary.”
In the same vein, the state chairman of the party picked holes in the choice of Olumide, the son of the former governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, as the party’s candidate representing Abeokuta North/Obafemi Owode/Odeda Federal Constituency. Osoba’s son replaced the incumbent Mikhail Kazeem, who, he said won the seat for second term.
Adebiyi also kicked against the choice of the incumbent representative for Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Isiaka Ibrahim, claiming that the sitting Commissioner for Special duties, Adeleke Adewolu, won that seat.
He also frowned at the choice of the incumbent in the House of Rep for Egbado North/Imeko Afon, Kayode Oladele, claiming that it was the sitting Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, who won that primary.
Adebiyi equally rejected the choice of the rep for Ado Odo/Ota, who is also the incumbent, Jimoh Ojugbele, alleging that Ojugbele contested for Senate in the primary and not the House of Representatives. He said the sitting chairman of the State Local Government Service Commission, Rotimi Rahmon won the primary for that slot.
Adebiyi said the state executive committee did not enter any agreement with anyone on the legislative list.
He said, “We never entered any agreement with anyone on the legislative list. We had issues with those four federal constituencies where those who won the legislative primary had their names substituted.”
Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/mixed-reactions-greet-nass-list-in-ogun/
