Ex-deputy governor of Ondo, Agboola Ajayi, has been declared the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary election in the state.
The chairman of the electoral committee, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who is the deputy governor of Bayelsa, announced the results on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
Ewhrudjakpo said Ajayi polled a total of 264 votes to defeat his competitors.
“By virtue of the results, Ajayi Alfred Agboola having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner of this primary and hereby declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the November 2024 election and is hereby returned as the candidate,” he said.
Ajayi was the deputy governor to the late Governor Akeredolu from 2017 to 2021.
Mr Kolade Akinjo, who came second in the election garnered 157 votes while Olusola Ebiseni scored 99 votes to secure the third place.
On the 21st of June, 2020, Ajayi, who is a lawyer and businessman, resigned his membership from the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Ajayi mentioned inharmonious differences between him and his boss, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, the former governor of Ondo.
He, subsequently joined the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) after he lost the PDP gubernatorial primary to Eyitayo Jegede and became the candidate of the party in 2020.
Ajayi had before now, served as a councillor, chairman of Ese-Odo LGA, and house of representatives member before the late Akeredolu nominated him to be his deputy in 2016.