LG Election: Kendoo, Olasoju, Obe finally emerge APC flag bearers in Oshodi-Isolo

By Rasaq Adebayo

Hon. Kehinde Oloyede (Kendoo), Hon. Bayo Olasoju and Hon. Monsuru Bello (Obe) have been declared winners of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections held on Saturday, May 29.

With the official declaration of their victory at polls, the three candidates will fly the APC flag to contest for the chairmanship of Oshodi-Isolo LG, Isolo and Ejigbo LCDAs respectively during the local government election coming up on June 24, this year.

From the official results released by the Lagos State chapter of APC, there were 3,509 total valid votes in Oshodi-Isolo LG out of which Kendoo got 2,961 to emerge winner.

In Isolo, 2,905 voters were accredited but only 2,871 voted. Out of the 2,871 total valid votes, the winner, Olasoju coasted home the total number of 2,538 votes to beat his main challengers, Hon. Hakeem Muniru and Hon. Mojeeb Adam.

Ejigbo had 2,508 total valid votes out of which the incumbent chairman, Hon. Monsuru Bello got 2,207 to crush his lone challenger, Mr. Peter Ajayi who got 301 votes in total.

The electoral process was peaceful in Oshodi, Isolo and Ejigbo contrary to earlier insinuation that the local government would be bloody due to the number of aspirants jostling for the limited positions.

The electorate and party members who participated in the election disappointed so many political observers who had predicted that the exercise would be bloody and marred with crisis in Oshodi-Isolo.

Despising their prediction, the exercise was relatively peacefully in Oshodi, Isolo and Ejigbo as assessed by observers.

Though the exercise was earlier scheduled to commence at 8:00 am with the accreditation of the voters to be followed by voting proper. The accreditation was supposed to last for four hours before the voting which was to start by 12noon and close by 3:00 pm.

However, the process was a little bit delayed, making the electoral officers conduct both accreditation and voting concurrently.

In Oshodi, the exercise was conducted in the seven wards and there was orderliness in all the polling centres as observed by ECHONEWS when going around the centres.

At St. Paul’s Nursery/Primary School, the polling centre for Mafoluku Ward D3, the exercise commenced by 11:12 pm with the accreditation and voting taking place.

The Member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I, Dr. Bashiru Dawodu cast his vote at the voting centre and was there for some time watching the process before leaving.

Igbeyinadun Ward, the polling centre was Methodist Primary School, Oshodi.

When the Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Worker (NURTW), Lagos State chapter, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo) and his candidate, Hon. Kendoo arrived the venue to cast their votes, people thought there would crisis but they maintained peace and preached peace among other contestants and their various supporters.

They did same at every other polling centres they visited.

Although there was a little crisis among supporters of each aspirant at Afariogun Primary School, the polling centre for Afariogun ward, it was quickly settled and the election was peaceful.

Prior to the election day, about eight out of the 11 chairmanship aspirants jostling for the party’s tucket had stepped aside, leaving only three contestants in the race – Hon. Kehinde Oloyede, Adebanji Atewogboye (Skibanj) and Ismail Badmus.

On Friday, a day to the primary election, one of the leading aspirant, the council vice chairman, TPL Daisi Osho announced his withdrawal from the race.

Majority of those who stepped aside gave their supports to Kendoo to fly the party’s flag.

Meanwhile, the results gathered from each of the seven wards in Oshodi-Isolo LG indicated that Kendoo won greater percentage of the vote casts in all the seven wards.

For instance, in the result of the Mafoluku Ward D3, Kendoo got got 446 votes followed by Skibanj who got 33 votes and Badmus 31 votes.

In Ogunoloko Ward, Kendoo garnered the total vote of 217 followed by Badmus with a total vote counts of 73.

In Igbeyinadun Ward, Kendoo had 543 votes followed by Skibanj with total vote of 38 and Badmus with 36 votes.

In Ward E1 Shogunle, Kendoo coasted home total vote counts of 537 while the duo of Skibanj and Badmus got two votes each.

In Oluyeye Ward, the election was held inside Ajibulu Heath Centre. The result of the ward indicated that Kendoo clung 366 votes followed by Skibanj with 54 votes.

In Afariogun and Ewutuntun Wards, Kendoo had 543 and 309 votes respectively while his runner up, Skibanj got 8 and 60 votes in each of the wards.

The counting of the votes was supervised Alhaji Mutiu Oriade, the returning officer for Oshodi-Isolo Local Government,

In Ejigbo, the party members came out in multitude to exercise their political right and everyone was given equal opportunity to vote for their candidates.

Although little crisis brewed up at Fadu and Aigbaka wards at their polling centres inside Ejigbo Primary School, Ile-Iwe, Ejigbo where a councillorship aspirant who was alleged to be a cultist was trying to disrupt the process as his name could not be found in the party’s registration book, the situation was arrested immediately and normalcy was returned promptly, making the exercise seamless.

Aside the two wards, all other polling centres were peaceful from the beginning of the exercise to the conclusion.

The electoral officers in Fadu ward were led by Hon. Jimoh Aleshiloye; Mrs. Riskat Ojikutu headed Aigbaka ward while Ifoshi ward was headed by Amzah Olanrewaju Musbau.

The electoral officers were from Oshodi-Isolo while some of them were from Lagos Island.

With overwhelming support from the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the incumbent chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Monsuru Bello Obe was able to gather enough votes to secure the party’s ticket to re-contest for the chairmanship position of the local council.

If succeeded in the general election, Obe will serve as the council chairman for another four years to complete his second term in office.

During the party’s primary election conducted on Saturday last week, the aspirant beat his sole challenger in the race, Mr. Peter Ajayi with more that 80 per cent of the vote casts.

From the result of the election released by the party, Obe garnered 2,207 out of the 2,508 total valid vote counts while his opponent got a total of 301 votes.

Obe got 88 per cent of the total vote while Ajayi got just 12 per cent.

There are six wards in Ejigbo LCDA and the election was conducted peacefully in all the wards. The results of the election in each ward are as follow.

In Fadu ward, Obe got the total votes of 387 while Ajayi secured 13 votes; in Ifoshi ward, 384 electorate voted for Obe while 45 members voted for Ajayi, in Ilamoshe, Obe clung the total votes of 542 while Ajayi secured 60 vote counts, in Aigbaka ward, Obe got 428 and Ajayi got 141 votes, in Ailegun ward, Obe won 102 votes while Ajayi won 11, in Oke-Afa ward, the total votes cast for Obe was 369 as Ajayi got just only 31 votes in the ward.

As reported by a community newspaper, ECHONEWS, Ajayi was later reconsidered to participate in the primary election after earlier being disqualified by the APC State Screening Committee due to his inability to present his voter’s card and birth certificate.

After the exercise in Isolo, the returning officer, Hon. Tajudeen Bello, who came from Lagos Mainland, certified the results which were resented to the party at the state level where the winners were announced.