The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the gubernatorial primary election. The chairman of the party in the state, Tunde Balogun, made the declaration at the state headquarters of the party in Ogba, Ikeja, on Tuesday night.
He said Sanwo-Olu polled nine hundred and seventy thousand, eight hundred and fifty-one votes to defeat Ambode who was said to have secured seventy-two thousand, nine hundred and one votes.
The National Working Committee panel of the election had earlier declared the election null and void. Chairman of the panel, Mr. Clement Ebri, on Tuesday said that it never authorised such to go ahead when the modalities were not followed as scheduled.
Ebri, had said secret ballot was agreed upon but the party in the state used the open ballot system. Ebri said that the APC State Executives failed to turn in the list for officials appointed to supervise the election, adding that the list only got to the panel at about 3pm, saying it would have been totally impossible to go ahead with the process without the list.
He said a new date for the exercise will be communicated to the public.
But Balogun disagreed with Ebri, saying the exercise went in a smooth manner.
Balogun, who described the exercise as free, fair and credible, maintained that it would be unfair to disenfranchised the one-point-seven million registered members of the APC.
Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu, has appreciated Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, thanking him for what he described as ‘a good fight and for allowing the direct primary to ‘come to stay.’ Sanwo-Olu also appreciated his supporters and Lagos residents promising that he will not take them for granted.
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