Incumbent Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu has been declared winner of the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2020. Akeredolu emerged flagbearer of the party, defeating eight governorship aspirants, as three others had stepped down for him prior to the commencement of the exercise. Several controversies trailed the processes leading up to the primary election, including allegations of manipulations of the list of delegates used for the election. Some aspirants also complained of unavailability of the delegates’ list before the primary, and relied on this to request for the postponement of the exercise. However, Governor Yahaya Bello, who led primary election committee of the party and addressed the complaints of the aspirants, stated that he had no power to postpone the election. One of the governorship aspirants, Isaac Kekemeke stated that he had lost confidence in the process, adding that the Bello led committee was not fair to some of the aspirants.
Furthermore, the APC in Ondo State has been operating in two factions. Chairman of one of the factions, Henry Olatuja has accused the other faction led by Ade Adetimehin of singlehandedly producing the list of delegates, with an aim to favour the incumbent Governor of the State, Rotimi Akeredolu in the primary election. He also questioned the legality of the said primary, as the congresses that led to the emergence of the delegates have become the subject of litigation. It will be recalled that 11 aspirants apart from Governor Akeredolu had asked for direct primary, as opposed to indirect primary as adopted by the party.
As preparations for the October 10 governorship election in the State are in full swing, the Ondo State Police command in a statement by its spokesperson, Tee Ikoror said that it will not tolerate any electoral disorder or thuggery and enjoined its officers to demonstrate professionalism in their conduct. Observers will be on the lookout with regard to any improvements in election security, following the release of the Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Security Officials on Electoral Duty by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).