Tension erupted in Oyo State on Saturday as some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) staged a protest over alleged exclusion from the ongoing House of Representatives primary elections.
The protesters, mainly from Ibadan North West and Ibadan South West Local Government Areas, stormed the party secretariat in Ibadan, accusing party organisers of shutting them out of the process.
According to the aggrieved members, the exercise was allegedly manipulated in a way that denied genuine participation of ward representatives.
They claimed that in Wards 1 to 12 of Ibadan South West, about 10 individuals per ward were secretly selected and taken to another location where they were made to sign documents.
A similar pattern was also alleged in Ibadan North West, where another group of about 10 persons per ward were reportedly picked and used for the process without a transparent election.
The protesting members described the situation as unfair and unacceptable, insisting that it was an attempt to impose preferred candidates on the constituencies rather than allow a credible democratic process.
They further demanded that the party leadership ensure transparency and allow all legitimate members to participate fully in the primary elections.
In response to the allegations, the Chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee in Oyo State, Mojeed Alabi, stated that such complaints are not unusual during party primaries.
He advised dissatisfied members to formally submit their grievances to the party’s appeal committee after the exercise, where all complaints would be reviewed and addressed according to party guidelines.
The incident adds to growing tensions within the APC in Oyo State as internal disputes continue to surround the conduct of its House of Representatives primaries.
