The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has denounced the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary held in the state as a “huge charade and a mockery of democracy.”

In a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, the PDP declared that the APC had “no right to rule the state” if it could not conduct a free and fair primary.

Peretei described the exercise as “an anticlimax and a mockery of democracy.” He argued that if the APC “cannot conduct a free, fair, transparent, and credible primary election for 171,922 of their members, they should perish the idea of presiding over the affairs of Ondo State.”

The PDP alleged that the APC had raked in N830 million from aspirants who “took photographs with their Nomination Forms in Abuja with their supporters.” However, Peretei said that these aspirants were unaware that the exercise would be “an anticlimax” and their ambitions would be “eclipsed.”

The PDP also raised concerns about irregularities in the accreditation process, noting that five aspirants had petitioned the APC National Headquarters about this issue 48 hours before the primary.

Peretei compared the APC’s primary to a previous event presided over by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who has been accused of fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He claimed that in both instances, aspirants had not been provided with a delegates’ list prior to the primary.

The PDP urged the APC to “perish the idea of ruling Ondo State beyond the eight years in which they have practically stagnated the State.”