A renowned medical expert, Dr. Wole Oluyede has emerged as the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary election in Ekiti State.
In a keenly contested election, the PDP Primary Election pulled thousands of party supporters to the election venue in Ado-Ekiti, including the 535 delegates drawn across the 177 wards in the State to vote for their preferred aspirants.
The election centre was heavily guarded by security personnel such as army, police officers, civil defence, Mopol, among others to maintain law and order.
The poll, which commenced around 10:30pm on Saturday night, was concluded at exactly 1:49am on Sunday.
The Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, who also doubles as the Lawmaker representing Gombe North Senatorial District, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, declared Oluyede as winner with 279 votes to defeat Funso Ayeni who polled 239 votes and Funmilayo Ogun who scored 17 votes.
An aspirant, Peter Obafemi stepped down for Oluyede, noting that his decision to withdraw from the race was not for personal gains but the peace of the party.
He described Oluyede as a man of integrity, who according to him, has the ability and agility to take the party to victory if he emerges as the party’s candidate.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Oluyede described the outcome as a collective triumph for all members of the PDP, commending the spirit of fairness and transparency that characterized the process.
The candidate expressed gratitude to the party’s national leadership for their role in ensuring a credible primary, singling out the National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum and the PDP Southwest leader, Engr. Seyi Makinde, for their commitment to a level playing field.
He vowed to restore hope, rebuild trust and reclaim Ekiti from the grip of misrule under All Progressive Congress (APC), urging citizens to unite in the mission to move Ekiti forward and return good governance to the state.
“Today marks a victory not just for me, but for every member of our great party in Ekiti State. In this election, there are no losers, only partners in progress and champions of democracy. The spirit of maturity, sincerity and fairness shown in this primary demonstrates that true change is coming to Ekiti.
“Your leadership has strengthened our faith in democracy. To my fellow aspirants, I salute your courage and sportsmanship. This victory belongs to all of us. Now, we must unite as one family to deliver the real victory, the PDP victory in the governorship election.” he added
An aspirant, Funsho Ayeni, acknowledged the efforts of the party but noted that the process was marred with manipulation, promising to make use of the internal mechanism to make corrections.
The PDP Chairman in Ekiti State,.Tunji Odeyemi expressed satisfaction with the successful conduct of the primary, describing it as a major step toward the party’s goal of reclaiming the state from the APC.
Odeyemi praised party members for their resilience throughout the long day of voting, which stretched from morning until the early hours of the following day, appealing to all aspirants to remain united.
He said: “To God be the glory, a winner has emerged and that has been our target since I became chairman. Many thought this primary would lead to a crisis, but we have shown otherwise. With God and our collective vision, we will take over the governance of Ekiti State.
“Only one person can occupy the seat. Now that a candidate has emerged, we must reconcile and move forward together to win the election. We have all it takes to take over the governance of Ekiti State”.
