Kunle Adelabu
Mr AbdulAzeez Adekunle Awesu and Mr AbduKareem Shittu, two leading PDP Aspirants for the Ikorodu Federal Constituency
It was a keenly contested primary election for the Ikorodu House of Representatives as the two leading aspirants; Mr AbdulAzeez Adekunle Awesu and Mr Abdul – Kareem Shittu tied.
Both aspirants polled 28 votes each to divide the 56 delegates accredited by the party among themselves, leaving the other two aspirants with no vote.
There were actually a total of 58 delegates, with 57 ad hoc delegates, one national, but according to the party’s Deputy Publicity Secretary, Mr Sodiq Lamina, two ad hoc delegates were not cleared to participate in the election conducted by Engr. Kasali Adebayo, the Chairman, PDP House of Representatives Primary Election,
The primary election, which failed to hold on Sunday, May 22 and Monday, May 24, 2022, was rescheduled for today at the Ikorodu Club, Aga, Ikorodu.
With today’s election, the PDP candidate for the House of Representatives in 2019, who also aspired this time around, Mrs Omotolani Popoola and a new entrant, Mr Odeyale Alaba, were effectively out of the contest, leaving the duo of Awesu and Shittu to fight for the sole ticket of representing the party in the 2023 General Elections.
Whoever wins between the two will have to contend with the incumbent representative of the Ikorodu Federal Constituency, Rep. Babajimi Adegoke Benson who, last weekend, won the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election.
Meanwhile, the PDP Chairman in Ikorodu, Engr. Olanrewaju Oshin, has described the election as free but not fair.
He told THE IMPACT in a chat after the election that the party might do a rerun election or ask the two aspirants to discuss and step down for one another.
“The election is free but not fair. Let’s commend our party for organising a free election”, Engr. Oshin said.
“We still have so much to do in the area of preventing an aspirant from influencing ad hoc members like we experienced today”.
When asked about what the party will do in determining its candidate between the two aspirants, Engr. Oshin said:
“We will wait for the state party’s directive, but we are looking at a rerun election or calling both aspirants for talk for the possibility of stepping down for each other”, he added.
