Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has been declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
His victory has cast uncertainty on the status and future of his principal-turned adversary, Rauf Aregbesola.
For now Aregbesola’s vrip appears to be on his the influential Alimoso bloc of Lagos, but which may also be under threat as he has announced severing ties with his mentor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The primaries took place on Saturday, with the committee headed by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Oyetola, who is seeking re-election, polled 222,169 votes to defeat his closet rival, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, the preferred candidate of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who scored 12,921.
The governor won in all the 30 local government areas of the state in the direct primary election on Saturday.
He also defeated Lasun Yusuf, a former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, who scored 460 votes.
AbdulRazak announced the results at about 3am at the APC Secretariat in Osogbo on Sunday.
AbdulRazak said that the total registered voters for the exercise was 408,697.
The chairman added that the total numbers of accredited voters was 247,207, while the total votes cast was 235,550.
He said: “I, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, the Chairman, Primary Election Committee, hereby certified that Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola, having scored the highest votes cast in Osun governorship primary election held on February 19 and met all requirements as contained in the guidelines of the election, is hereby declared the winner.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of the APC in Osun State, Gboyega Famodun, commended the committee for a job well done.
Famodun said the peaceful outcome of the primary had put an end to tension in the state.
He said the party would work towards the victory of Oyetola, who is now its candidate for the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state.
