Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola, Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has emerged the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the September 22, 2018 governorship election in the state.
Oyetola came tops in the direct primary held in Osogbo, the state capital, on Friday.
The primary, which was supervised by, among others, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, Governor of Zamfara State, Chairman of the Primaries Committee, took place in 332 wards across the state.
Announcing the result, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who represented Governor Yari, disclosed that Oyetola scored 127,017 votes, while Mr Lasun Yussuff, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, came second with 21,975 votes.
“Having won the majority votes, I declared Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola as the official flag-bearer for the September 22 governorship election,” Senator Ovie Omo-Agege said.
Governor Yari, speaking after the announcement, expressed satisfaction at the conduct of the exercise, praising party members for their patience and peaceful conduct.
Prior to Friday’s exercise, three candidates, including Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, Secretary to Osun State Government (SSG) and Senator Babajide Omoworare, representing Osun East at the Senate, had announced their withdrawal from the primaries hours to the exercise.
In a letter he addressed to the Chairman of APC Primaries Committee, Gov. Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara, on Friday, Adeoti said he was withdrawing from the race because, according to him, the process had been skewed in favour of the Chief of Staff.
“While I am not withdrawing from the governorship race, I have decided not to participate in the July 20, 2019 Direct Primaries of the APC in Osun State for the above stated and other reasons,” the SSG said.
The Crest recalls that Comrade Adams Oshiomole, National Chairman of the APC, had. on Monday, July 16, announced that the party would adopt the direct primary option to select its candidate for the Osun governorship election holding on