The aggrieved party loyalists demanded the release of what they described as the authentic results of the direct primary elections conducted across the state.
The APC flag
The internal crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) showed no signs of abating on Tuesday as aggrieved party members staged a protest in Akure, the state capital, rejecting the party’s revised list of senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.
The protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, marched through major roads in the state capital to register their grievances.
Some of the placards read: “Ondo State Is on Fire,” “Ondo State Says No to Abuja Result,” “No to Corner-Corner Appeal,” “We No Go Gree,” and “Let Our Votes Count.”
The aggrieved party loyalists demanded the release of what they described as the authentic results of the direct primary elections conducted across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Seun Osamaye, described the list in circulation as fake, insisting that it did not reflect the outcome of the direct primaries conducted in the state’s 203 wards.
“We, the women of Ondo State who are members of the APC, have come out to express our displeasure with the fake list being circulated. We consider it fake because it does not reflect the mandate of the people.”
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Osamaye said party members knew those who emerged from the direct primaries and questioned why the names on the revised list differed from those voted for during the exercise.
She appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene, expressing confidence in his commitment to fairness, justice and democratic principles.
Also speaking, a youth leader in the party, Bright Ojo, described the revised list as a “democratic coup” against APC members in Ondo State.
“What you are seeing is a protest against a democratic coup in Ondo State. The people voted en masse during the direct primary, and the results reflected the will and mandate of the people from the field.”
Ojo alleged that the revised list contained the names of aspirants who lost the primaries and questioned the role of the party’s national leadership in the changes.
The protest came shortly after the APC National Working Committee (NWC) reportedly approved major changes to the party’s list of candidates following appeals arising from the primary elections.
Under the revised list, incumbent Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire (SAN) emerged as the party’s candidate for Ondo Central, while incumbent Senator Olajide Ipinsagba secured the ticket for Ondo North. Hon. Isaacs Kekemeke emerged as the party’s candidate for Ondo South.
For the House of Representatives, Donald Ojogo, Festus Akingbaso, Oluwatimehin Adelegbe, Okunjimi Odimayo, Michael Ajilo and Festus Adefiranye emerged as the APC candidates for the six affected federal constituencies.
The release of the revised list, which party stakeholders in the state had awaited since the conclusion of the primaries, was expected to end the uncertainty surrounding the exercise. However, Tuesday’s protest suggests the controversy over the outcome of the primaries is far from over.
