There was tension in Omu-Aran, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area, on Saturday as angry youths and political stakeholders staged a protest over alleged political marginalisation in the Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Irepodun/Isin Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 elections.
The protesters, in viral videos obtained by NGBREAKINGNEWS Online on Sunday, accused a dominant political bloc within the constituency of monopolising the House of Representatives seat for nearly three decades.
The constituency, located in Kwara South Senatorial District, comprises four local government areas—Ekiti, Oke-Ero, Irepodun and Isin—and is broadly divided along the Ekiti-speaking and Igbomina-speaking political blocs.
During the protest, chants of “Ekiti Lokan” echoed across parts of Omu-Aran as demonstrators demanded a power shift to the Ekiti axis, arguing that the bloc had remained politically sidelined despite its electoral contributions to the constituency and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The protesters described the situation as unfair and contrary to democratic principles of equity, inclusion, and rotational representation.
According to them, the federal constituency seat has remained under the control of politicians from the Igbomina bloc since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, while the Ekiti bloc has allegedly been denied the opportunity to produce a representative.
One of the protesters, who spoke in one of the viral videos, said the agitation was beyond partisan politics and rooted in demands for justice and fairness.
“We cannot continue like this. Democracy is about inclusion, fairness, and equal opportunity. One structure cannot continue to control this constituency forever while others are ignored,” he said.
Another protester accused political leaders in the constituency of allegedly sustaining what he described as a cycle of recycled representation.
“Our people have waited for years. This is about fairness and balance. Every bloc deserves a sense of belonging,” he added.
The protest comes amid growing political tension within the APC over the race for the party’s ticket for the federal constituency seat ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The incumbent lawmaker representing the constituency, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, popularly known as Ajuloopin, first emerged through a by-election in 2018 following the death of former lawmaker, Funke Adedoyin.
Political stakeholders from the Ekiti bloc have recently intensified calls for the APC leadership to respect what they described as an unwritten rotational arrangement within the constituency.
In an earlier open appeal to President Bola Tinubu and the APC leadership, aspirants and stakeholders from the Ekiti bloc argued that the House of Representatives seat had consistently been occupied by politicians from Irepodun and Isin Local Government Areas since 1999.
They warned that failure to allow the Ekiti bloc to produce the next candidate could deepen internal grievances and weaken party unity ahead of the polls.
