2027: Ondo senator denies losing APC primary

The senator representing the Ondo North Senatorial District of Ondo State, Olajide Ipinsagba, has denied a report that he had lost the just-concluded senatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress.

Ipinsagba and some other contestants contested for the ticket of the APC in the last primary, but the result of the primary has not been released by the national Secretariat of the party in Abuja, putting all stakeholders in suspense.

The senator, in a statement issued by his media aide, Prince Adeyinka Ajagunna, on Monday, reacted to a report that his political career had ended following his purported loss in the primary.

According to the statement, the senator described the report as false and mischievous, insisting that his political career had not ended in the senatorial district.

The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a commentary circulating in the media declaring the political career of Senator Olajide Ipinsagba, Senator representing Ondo North Senatorial District, is over following the recent APC primary.

“We issue this in the interest of facts, decorum, and the democratic values our party and constituents hold dear. The assertion that the 2023 mandate was borrowed undermines the thousands of voters across Owo, Akoko South/West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West, Akoko South East, and Ose who cast their ballots for Senator Ipinsagba in 2023. While we acknowledge the support of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, the votes were cast by the people.

“Since June 2023, the Senator’s office has worked to translate that mandate into impact: facilitation of rural road projects, intervention in healthcare access, educational support for students across the six LGAs, and consistent constituency engagements. To reduce support in Akoko North West to local influence alone ignores the grassroots structures, youth groups, women leaders, and traditional institutions that have partnered with this administration to deliver results.”

It added that Ipinsagba’s relationships in the National Assembly and with the executive were deployed to attract the federal presence to Ondo North and that the senator had been maintaining direct interface with constituents through town halls, constituency office hours, and project monitoring.

“Senator Ipinsagba’s service to Ondo North did not begin in 2023, and it will not end with one primary, the result of which is yet to be made public. He remains a son of the soil, committed to development, youth empowerment, and accountable representation. The real contest is not between politicians, but between all of us and underdevelopment”

While thanking the people of the senatorial district for their support, the statement expressed assurance that the senator will continue to serve Ondo North as a committed citizen.