The African Democratic Congress, ADC, battle for the Ogun State governorship seat took a chaotic turn on Monday, as parallel gubernatorial primaries were held, producing two rival governorship candidates.

Within 24 hours, Jimi Lawal and Biodun Ogundipe were separately announced winners of the primary election.

The election result which pronounced Lawal was announced at the party’s Secretariat, while the other was at Basic Trust International, Oke Ilewo Abeokuta, on Monday.

Recall that the party had three aspirants vying for the ticket: Jimi Lawal, Abiodun Collins Ogundipe, and U.S.-based medical doctor Dr. Marie Bolaji Odusina.

The election was conducted across the 236 wards of the State over the weekend.

Speaking at the party’s secretariat, the National Organizing Secretary of the ADC and Secretary of the Ogun State Primary Election Committee, Barrister Adebimpe Adelowo said, Lawal pulled 19,428 votes while Ogundipe got 5,775 votes and Dr. Odusina had 4,825 votes.

His words, “Hon Jimi Lawal scored a total votes of 19,418, Abiodun Collins Ogundipe – 5,775 and Dr. Marie Abolaji Odusina 4,825 votes, therefore Hon Jimi Lawal, having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner of the Ogun State gubernatorial primary election.

“He is now the governorship candidate of ADC in the coming 2027 general elections. For the avoidance of doubt, Article 14 (13) (iv) of the ADC Constitution empowers the National Organising Secretary to”implement and coordinate all field activities of the party” he added, denying insinuations that the party removed him as the National Organizing Secretary.

One party, two winners

Contrary to the announcement made at the party’s secretariat, Chairman of the other Electoral Committee, Mr. Adeniyi Adams, declared Biodun Collins Ogundipe, popularly known as BCO, as the winner of the primary election after polling the highest number of votes.

The election was overseen by a 11-man electoral committee, which had Moshood Babatunde as secretary, Motunrayo Odumosu, Gbenga Sobowale, Remi Onanuga, Layeni Yemi, and Olaolu Oresanya among others as members.

It also had Roseline Giwa-Amu, Yetunde Morondiya and Muritala Suleimam as members of the appeal committee.

According to them, Ogundipe polled 9,370 votes, Jimi Lawal 6,812 votes while Marie Odusina had 2,349 votes.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after the declaration, Ogundipe stated that the primary contest had ended and that it was time for all party members to band together in order to win the next Ogun State governorship race.

He offered fellowship to other candidates, encouraging them and their backers to view the project as a shared vision for Ogun State’s advancement and development.

He said, “We are one family in ADC. This is the time for unity, reconciliation, and collective commitment to victory. I call on all aspirants and members of our great party to join hands together so we can win the forthcoming election and deliver good governance to the people of Ogun State.”

U.S based doctor rejects primary outcome, demands fresh exercise

One of the party’s gubernatorial aspirants, Marie Odusina has petitioned the ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election.

Odusina, a United States-based pediatrician, insisted that the election exhibited several fundamental breaches of the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, and established democratic principles guiding internal party primaries in Nigeria.

She revealed that voting took place in different locations within the same ward, contrary to standard electoral protocols that required a single designated polling centre per ward to ensure proper monitoring, accreditation, and result collation.

According to her, these parallel locations created opportunities for confusion and potential manipulation of the process.

“These lapses compromised the integrity, transparency, and credibility of the entire process.The composition of the electoral committee raised serious concerns about impartiality.

“I was not officially informed or provided with the detailed modalities for the conduct of the primaries, including the specific guidelines on voting procedures, accreditation processes, collation centres, and timelines. This lack of prior communication violated the fundamental principle of equal participation and due process that should govern all aspirants in a democratic primary election.

“The election process recorded multiple irregularities across various wards. In several instances, voting took place in different locations within the same ward, contrary to standard electoral protocols that require a single designated polling centre per ward to ensure proper monitoring, accreditation, and result collation.

“These parallel locations created opportunities for confusion and potential manipulation of the process.

She added that in Ogun West voting was still ongoing in some areas long after the official closure of polls in other parts of the state.

“This staggered and uncoordinated timing across polling units further eroded the credibility of the exercise and raised questions about the overall coordination by the electoral committee.

“A reconduction of the gubernatorial primary election under clear, transparent, and uniformly applied modalities is necessary to restore faith in the process.

“This should include the appointment of a new, impartial electoral committee, timely dissemination of guidelines to all aspirants, and strict adherence to single polling locations per ward with synchronized voting timelines across all regions, including Ogun West,” she insisted.

The pediatrician warned that if the party fails to address the irregularities through a proper conduct of another primary, she would seek legal redress to protect the integrity of the process and her rights as an aspirant.

“My participation in the primary was guided by a desire to contribute to good governance in Ogun State through issue-based politics and service delivery.

“Should the party fail to address these concerns through an appropriate reconduction, I shall have no alternative but to seek legal redress in the competent courts of jurisdiction to protect the integrity of the electoral process and my rights as an aspirant” she added.

Recall that earlier this month, some concerned members of ADC from the Ogun East Senatorial District had petitioned the party’s National Secretariat, demanding the disqualification of Jimi Lawal from the primary election.

The members, Olabisi Omolaso, Haruna Owolabi, Keshiro Daniel, Ezekiel Abidemi, Onamuyiwa Olumuyiwa, and Ibrahim Aliyat in the petition highlighted an ongoing criminal prosecution instituted against Lawal by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) among others, arguing that presenting an aspirant heavily burdened with legal battles and integrity issues would severely jeopardize the party’s electoral fortunes in Ogun.