‘I Didn’t Sign Petition Challenging Akeredolu’s Victory’

Rotimi AkeredoluAs controversy continues to rage over the governorship primary election conducted by the All Progresives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, a Chairman of the party in Ondo West Local Government, Mr. Adeala Ademulegun, has denied endorsing a petition challenging the victory of Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

Akeredolu, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), was declared winner of the primary election amid allegations that the delegates list used was doctored.

Already, three aspirants have rejected the outcome and sent separate petitions to the national leadership of the party.

Ademulegun in a statement yesterday, said he was in support of the process leading to the election of Akeredolu in the primary.

A group of APC leaders, including Ademulegun, allegedly on Monday, rejected Akeredolu as the party’s candidate, and petitioned the appeal committee set up by the party’s national secretariat.

However, the party chieftain denied his involvement in the petition, saying he was in support of the former NBA president’s election.

According to him, he was part and parcel of the process that produced Akeredolu, and could not reject him after his victory.

He pledged to support Akeredolu to transform Ondo State through responsive government, urging APC members to support him.

But yesterday, Ademulegun’s colleague in Ondo East, Akintunde Temitope, insisted they both signed the petition sent to the primary election committee chairman.

He said: “When we could not immediately locate Ademulegun, when the petition was to be submitted, it was only my name that was typed.

“He, however, used his hand to write his name and signed the petition when he arrived at the venue”.

Akintunde said over 51 per cent votes of his executives were lost to the alleged fraud, stressing that his struggle was not against Akeredolu, but for justice and the need for APC to win the November 26 poll.