Omisore, who had been touted as a leading contestant among four others who showed interest in the ticket of the party, scored 1,128 votes out of 1,280 delegates accredited for the election from the 30 local government areas of the state.
Coming far behind Omisore in the keenly contested election was a former Minister of Youth Development, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, who scored 35 votes and a former chairman of the House Committee on Defence in the House of Representatives, Hon. Oluwole Oke, who scored five votes.
The fourth aspirant, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, boycotted the election on excuse that the ward congresses leading to the governorship primaries was riddled with irregularities and threat to his life by supporters of one of the contestants.
The Chairman, Osun 2014 Gubernatorial Primaries Election Committee and former governor of Kebbi state, Alhaji Muhammed Adamu Aliero, who announced the result at the GMT Event Centre, at the end of the exercise, noted that the election was not only transparent but was free, fair and credible.
Aliero lauded the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party for preparation made for the exercise, saying that the committee was also impressed by the level of discipline and maturity exhibited by the aspirants.
He said the election which was held under a peaceful atmosphere had set the pace for other parties to emulate, adding that the spirit of fair play and promise by the aspirants to support the winner of the primaries before the election started was a further demonstration of PDP’s “belief in internal democracy”.
In his speech, Omisore saluted the courage and dedication of other aspirants and urged them to join hands with him to ensure that the PDP regain power in Osun State in the August election.
“I see this victory as not a victory for Omisore but for the PDP which is determined to chase away the ruling Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APC) through the ballot box,” he said.
Omisore who commended the peaceful manner the election was held said the maturity displayed by other aspirants was an indication that members of the party were ready to take control of governance in the state during the August 9 gubernatorial poll.
He declared that he would work hard with the support of others in order to ensure the victory of the PDP in the state.
Security at the venue of the election was tight, as about 600 regular and anti-riot policemen, 300 men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies were deployed to monitor primaries.
Earlier, before voting started Omisore, Oke and Akinlabi embraced one another and later took photograph together, suggesting a cordial relationship exists among them.
Source: Guardian
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