A House of Representatives aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, Prince Monday Akinyomi, has challenged the credibility of the party’s primary election for the Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, alleging that the exercise was manipulated to favour a preferred candidate.
Akinyomi claimed that the primary conducted on May 16 lacked transparency and did not reflect a genuine electoral process, despite the eventual declaration of winners.
The aspirant said he had anticipated a free and fair contest that would allow party members to determine their flag bearer through a democratic process but was disappointed by what transpired.
According to him, the exercise was marred by confusion as there was no clearly identified venue for the primary, while different groups reportedly gathered at separate locations, each claiming to be participating in the election.
He further alleged that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and recognised APC officials from the party’s national and state structures were absent from the venue where aspirants and their supporters had assembled.
Akinyomi said, “I expected a transparent election where delegates and party members would freely choose their candidate. What happened fell far short of that expectation. As far as I am concerned, no credible election took place.”
The aspirant also alleged that the process had been tailored to favour a particular contender, adding that the result eventually surfaced on social media despite what he described as the absence of proper accreditation, voting and collation procedures.
He disclosed that some dissatisfied aspirants had submitted petitions to the party’s National Working Committee, seeking the cancellation of the exercise and demanding a fresh primary election.
However, the Ondo State chapter of the APC dismissed the allegations, insisting that the primary was conducted in line with the party’s guidelines and under the supervision of officials appointed by the National Working Committee.
In a statement, the party’s Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, said the state chapter only played a supporting role by providing logistics and administrative assistance for the exercise.
“The state leadership neither conducted nor supervised the primary election and had no constitutional authority to declare results. Claims that it hijacked the process are therefore misleading and unfounded,” the statement said.
The party maintained that the results of the primaries held across the country had been submitted to and endorsed by the national leadership.
It added that any aspirant dissatisfied with the outcome was free to seek redress through the party’s established appeal mechanisms.
The APC also urged members to avoid actions and statements capable of causing division within the party, stressing that allegations of irregularities should be backed by verifiable evidence and pursued through the appropriate internal channels.
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