Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has secured the backing of members of the Accord as the consensus candidate for the Odo-Otin State Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The endorsement was ratified during the party’s selection exercise held at the Okuku Town Hall in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the Speaker’s spokesperson, Olamide Tiamiyu, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, monitored the process.

The statement explained that party members and stakeholders across the constituency unanimously adopted Egbedun as the party’s flagbearer for the forthcoming election.

Reacting to the development, Egbedun described the endorsement as a fresh responsibility to intensify his service to residents of the constituency.

“This is a call to do more for our people. I am deeply honoured by the confidence reposed in me by members of the party and stakeholders across the constituency,” he said.

The lawmaker stated that the confidence shown in him would encourage him to continue pursuing projects and programmes aimed at improving the welfare of people in Odo-Otin.

“I see this not merely as an endorsement, but as a responsibility to continue working tirelessly for the development of Odo-Otin State Constituency and Osun State as a whole,” Egbedun added.

He also commended members of the party for maintaining peace throughout the exercise, noting that the conduct reflected unity within the Accord party in the constituency.

Egbedun pointed to the presence of electoral officials at the venue as evidence of the credibility and transparency of the process.

“The monitoring of the process by INEC officials further demonstrates the transparency and credibility of the exercise,” he stated.

The Chairman of Accord in Odo-Otin, Taiye Olatunji, said party leaders resolved to adopt the Speaker because of what he described as his achievements within three years in office.

Olatunji maintained that members of the party were convinced Egbedun remained the preferred candidate to represent the constituency, adding that the consensus decision reflected the confidence reposed in his leadership by stakeholders across Odo-Otin.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has sent a birthday message to former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, amid the latter’s rejection of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential primary results.

Atiku, in a message posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, described Amaechi as “a brother and fellow patriot,” while commending his years of service to Rivers State and Nigeria.

“Happy Birthday to my brother and fellow patriot, H.E. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

“Your courage, conviction, and years of service to Rivers State and Nigeria continue to inspire many across the nation. I wish you good health, strength, and many more years of impactful service to our dear country,” Atiku wrote.

The message comes a day after Amaechi rejected the outcome of the ADC presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.

Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”

He said he had earlier stated that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.

“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” Amaechi said.

The former Rivers State governor alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.

According to him, the ADC could not criticise vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.

Kwara State All Progressives Congress governorship primary election may have come and gone, but the memory of the intrigues, suspense and high wire manipulation which characterized the exercise has remained indelible.

At least close to 17 aspirants emerged with keen interest to contest the primary election of the party for the gubernatorial ticket.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had earlier pledged that he would prefer the next governor under the platform of the APC to come from Kwara North Senatorial District, because the region had long been sidelined in the history of political governance in the state.

Consequently, speculation of who takes over from Governor Abdulrazaq centred on the current Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Engr Yakubu Danladi Salihu as the heir apparent.

DAILY POST reports that names of three prominent aspirants Senator Salihu Mustapha, Bashir Bolarinwa and Femi Araba had earlier circulated widely among party members in the state prior to the primary election, with insinuation that the presidency had interest in a particular aspirant close to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

That was the picture presented until few hours  to the governorship primary election of the party when Governor Abdulrazaq named his anointed aspirant in person of Yahaya Seriki as his preferred successor in office, a development which sent shockwaves to party members and political watchers in the state.

Amid the confusion created by the development, reports said a meeting of all the aspirants was summoned last Thursday by the governor at the Banquet Hall, Government House in Ilorin, but only one aspirant, Barrister Belgore attended, while others boycotted the meeting.

The aborted banquet meeting was trailed by announcements of aspirants refuting their purported withdrawal from the primary election for an aspirant among them.

Apart from the Director General of the National Legislative Institute, Abuja, Professor Abubakar Suleiman who announced his withdrawal from the exercise, all others declared they were still in the race, compounding the already confused loyalists of the party in the state.

The aggrieved aspirants opted for direct primary instead of consensus arrangement which the party leadership favored at both national and state levels.

The political space became more tensed when the Thursday primary election conducted through direct primary was abruptly halted by the national leadership of the party while it was ongoing.

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who announced the cancellation, disclosed that Friday, the following day, had been fixed for the primary election exercise, blaming the development on logistic issues.

The primary election eventually held on Friday with the Speaker, Yakubu Danladi Salihu, emerging as the winner against all speculations within the party.

Chairman of the primary election, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who announced the results at the Banquet Hall, disclosed that Yakubu Danladi polled 94,990 votes to beat his closest challenger, Yahaya Seriki who scored 41,700 and Dr Bashir Bolarinwa who got 22,118 votes.

Results of the other candidates showed that Engr Femi Sani polled 5519 votes, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe 3,920, Barrister Mohammed Dele Belgore 3,411, Mohammed Bio 1122, Dr Alabi Oluwatoyin 1,099, Professor Wale Suleiman 2,434, and Professor Abubakar Suleiman 1722 votes.