A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Ajayi Agboola, has emerged as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the November governorship election in the state.

Agboola polled 264 votes at the party primary held on Wednesday.

He was followed by a former member of the House of Representatives, Kolade Akinjo, who got 157 votes.

No fewer than seven aspirants contested the election with 621 delegates accredited.

Other results showed that a former Secretary General of the Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, polled 99 votes, Adeolu Akinwumi got 64 votes, Bamidele Akingboye scored 24, Mr John Mafo polled nine and Mr Bosun Arebuwa had two votes.

Before the commencement of the exercise, the Chairman of the PDP primary election committee and Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, vowed to conduct a free, fair, and credible primary.

Agboola served as the deputy governor to the late Rotimi Akeredolu up until 2020.

In the run-up to the 2020 governorship election, moves to impeach Agboola were thwarted, forcing him to join the PDP.

He, however, contested the 2020 election on the platform of the Zenith Labour Party after losing the PDP ticket to Eyitayo Jegede. He finished third in the poll with 69,127 votes.

He will now face the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, another of Akeredolu’s former deputy at the November poll.

Aiyedatiwa had earlier emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

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