Follow Us on Google
By Oluseye Ojo
Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced moves to avert a post-primary election crisis.
This came to the fore following complaints and grievances arising from its governorship and other primary elections conducted for the 2027 general elections.
The party disclosed this yesterday shortly after concluding its governorship primary in Ibadan, which is expected to produce one candidate among the 11 aspirants cleared by the party’s National Secretariat to contest the ticket.
The results of the governorship primary will be announced by the party’s National Secretariat, as it did in other levels of the exercise.
The state Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, in a statement said the party admitted that some aspirants and stakeholders were dissatisfied with aspects of the exercises but assured members that no individual or interest group would be neglected in the party’s affairs.
The governorship aspirants that obtained forms for the primary included the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli; former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Rauf Olaniyan; former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibadan Branch, Akeem Agbaje and Senator Abdulfatai Buhari of Oyo Central.
The list also included the Chairman and CEO of Oceansalt Oil and Gas Engineering, Oyedele Hakeem Alao; son of former Olubadan of Ibadanland, Prince Musibau Asatola Asanike and Dr. Ololade Usman Bakare.
Sadare said the leadership of the party had already begun a reconciliation process aimed at reuniting aggrieved members and strengthening cohesion ahead of the 2027 polls.
“The leadership of the party in the state is already working on post-primary reconciliation drive and very soon, everyone will be on board to participate actively in our electioneering drive,” he stated.
Other News
The party, however, described the conduct of its members during the series of direct primaries as peaceful, mature and commendable, insisting that the exercises had further demonstrated the APC’s commitment to internal democracy.
According to the statement, the APC had successfully conducted primaries for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and governorship positions, while preparations were ongoing for the presidential primary.
The party argued that its adoption of direct primaries distinguished it from other political parties by allowing grassroots members to participate directly in the selection of candidates.
“Going by the current situation in the political space across the country, we, in the APC have further shown that we are the only democrats around.
“With the success recorded so far in the conduct of our direct primaries, there is no doubt that our great party is committed to deepening democracy in the land as we are the only party that has involved the people at the grassroots in the selection process of candidates for the 2027 polls,” Sadare stated.
The APC added that many political observers had doubted the possibility of conducting hitch-free direct primaries in the country, but maintained that the Oyo chapter had disproved such assumptions through the orderly conduct of its exercises.
While admitting that the party was not claiming absolute perfection, Sadare praised party members and grassroots supporters for demonstrating commitment, discipline and team spirit throughout the primary process.
“As democrats, it is understood that only one person would get the party ticket in any contest involving two or more people and with this kind of orientation, party faithful will not have any problem in working for the overall success of the APC at the poll even where their choice aspirant failed to secure the ticket,” he added.
The spokesman further disclosed that the party was intensifying efforts to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the presidential election, expressing optimism that the APC would secure at least one million votes for the president in Oyo State and reclaim the Agodi Government House in 2027.
