Daramola Camp Disputes Akin Rotimi’s Victory Claim, Calls for Disqualification

By Joseph Sunday

The Bimbo Daramola Campaign Organisation has rejected what it calls a premature declaration of victory by House of Representatives spokesperson, Hon. Akin Rotimi, following a report in The Punch.

The campaign Organization said Rotimi announced himself winner of the All Progressives Congress primary for the Oye/Ikole Federal Constituency, even though he lost at the polls according to their own collated results.

In a statement issued by Lanre Aribisala, Head of Media for the Daramola campaign, Hon. Bimbo Daramola described Rotimi’s move as “illusory” and “desperation taken too far.”

“We have our agents on ground and have collated results directly from them. Any figures being circulated by Hon. Rotimi and his allies exist only in his imagination,” the statement read.

The Daramola team further alleged irregularities in the handling of results. It claimed that results from Ikole Local Government were moved to the residence of a serving commissioner in the Ekiti State Government, while those from Oye Local Government were taken to a hotel owned by another government official. The campaign said it has photo and video evidence from its agents to support the claims.

The statement described the primary as being marred by over-voting, violence, and other malpractices, urging the public to disregard Rotimi’s declared outcome.

Pointing specifically to Ikole Ward 8, Odo Ayedun, the campaign said Rotimi lost his home ward, which undermines his claim to victory. It challenged him to appear in the ward with supporters to prove the numbers he is citing.

The Daramola Campaign Organisation is now calling on the party leadership and electoral authorities to disqualify Rotimi over the self-declaration and alleged manipulation.

“The rape of the process cannot stand,” the statement concluded.