Political Tension In Ondo APC As Members Demand Review Of Candidates List

The crisis rocking the Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), took a fresh turn on Tuesday, as aggrieved party members staged a protest in Akure, the state capital.

Carrying placards with various inscriptions, protesters took to major roads and marched through the state capital to register their grievances, it was reported.

The protest follows the reversal of the results of some Senate and House of Representatives primaries across constituencies in Ondo State by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, which deprived eight candidates of their tickets to accommodate new nominees.

Reports were also received from the Primary Election Appeal Committees of the NWC and a fresh list of candidates approved in accordance with the Electoral Act and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But the loyalists of the affected aspirants rejected the adjustments and called for the release of the actual results of the direct primary elections conducted across the state.

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 Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Seun Osamaye, speaking on behalf of the protesters, said the list being circulated was fake and did not reflect the outcome of the direct primaries conducted in the 203 wards of the state.

“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 believe it is fake because it does not represent the mandate of the people.

“The party members knew the names of those who came out of the direct primaries and wondered why the names on the revised list were different from those voted for during the exercise,” said Osamaye.

She appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene, saying she was confident he would do so, in accordance with his promise to uphold fairness, justice and democratic principles.

Also speaking, a youth leader in the party, Bright Ojo, called the revised list a “democratic coup” against APC members in Ondo State.

“This is a protest against a democratic coup in Ondo State. “During the direct primary, the people voted en mass and the results reflected the will and mandate of the people from the field,” he said.

Ojo claimed that the amended list included the names of aspirants who failed the primaries and challenged the role of the party’s national leadership in the changes.