The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has defeated Hazeem Gbolarumi to clinch the ticket as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the governorship election in the state in 2023.
Gbolarumi, former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, was the only aspirant who slugged it out with Makinde in the primary held, on Wednesday, at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, the state capital.
In all, Alhaji Abdullahi MaiBasira, Secretary, PDP Electoral Committee, said that a total of 1,048 delegates were accredited to vote out of 1,086 delegates.
Giving the lowdown of the result of the primary, MaiBasira said that of this number, Makinde scored a total of 1,040 votes to defeat Gbolarumi, who polled two votes.
Six votes were voided during the exercise.
In his acceptance speech, Makinde thanked the delegates for counting him worthy to be the party’s standard bearer in the coming election.
He said, “I’m not the most brilliant or the most upright person, yet, you gave me your mandate.Thank you for believing in me and in our party, PDP.
“Trust is like a building. For every building to stand, it must have a solid foundation; the foundation for trust is truth.”
While pledging his fidelity to the party, he urged the members in the state to continue to work for its progress.
Gbolarumi, who urged the leadership of the party to ensure that the tenets of democracy were adhered by the party in the state, alleged that his delegates were chased away by thugs from the venue of the primary.
The PDP primary was witnessed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo State, Dr Mutiu Agboke, and the INEC Administrative Secretary, Alhaji Abiodun Onigate-Amosun.
Security agents were on hand for hours at the venue of the primary to maintain law and order within and outside the venue.
