Ondo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria said on Thursday that it had cleared a former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, to contest the Ondo-North Senatorial seat on its platform.
It also said that it had adopted, by consensus, the duo of Mr. Michael Akintade and Dr. Paul Akintelure as its candidates for the Ondo Central and Ondo South senatorial districts in the forthcoming general elections.
Chairman of the party in the state, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, who made the clarification in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Akure also said the party had not formally accepted Senator Hosea Ehinlanwo as its member.
Anifowose said that Ehinlanwo, who is currently respresenting the Ondo South Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, came to the ACN secretariat in Akure to know whether he could contest on the party‘s platform.
She said, ”It is the belief of the party’s leadership in the state that Ehinlanwo should go and register from his ward. He was already late for the primary election because the party had elected Akintelure by consensus.
“I am no sure that Senator Ehinlanwo had obtained the form to contest the senatorial seat on the ACN platform because he had not paid any fee. He contacted us for that opportunity but we told him he was late.”
Our correspondent gathered that apart from Agunloye and Akintelure, who dumped the Labour Party to contest on the platform of the ACN, another chieftain of the LP, Chief Olufemi Adekanmi had also joined the ACN.
Adekanmbi is contesting the Owo/Ose Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives on the platform of the LP until Thursday when he declared his intention to run on the ACN ticket.
The aspirant, who addressed journalists at the ACN state secretariat in Akure, said he left the LP to protest the injustice meted on him by the party leadership.
He alleged that the leadership of the party failed to provide a level playing ground for al the aspirants but decided to impose candidates on them without any sign of remorse.
Meanwhile, traditional rulers in the four Akoko local government areas of the state on Thursday rose in stout support of the emergence of the LP Senatorial Candidate in Ondo North District, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice.
The monarch of the hometown of Agunloye, who was Boroffice’s main opponent, the Osunla of Erusu Akoko, Oba Sunday Mogaji, was among the traditional rulers that visited Mimiko in his office over the issue.
Mogaji said although the people were expecting their son to clinch the ticket, the internal democracy policy of the party was superior to personal wishes hence their acceptance of the outcome.