APC aspirant faults Ondo Reps primary, demands fresh election

A House of Representatives aspirant for Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Monday Akinyomi, has condemned the outcome of the primary conducted in the federal constituency.

In the APC direct primary conducted on May 16, 2026, Mr Akingboye David was declared the winner, scoring 9,284 votes to defeat all other aspirants.

Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Akinyomi alleged that the primary was hijacked by leaders of the APC in the state to allegedly favour an “anointed candidate.”

Akinyomi, who described the APC House of Representatives primary election as a sham, insisted that no credible electoral process took place despite the eventual announcement of a winner. He called on the national leadership of the party to cancel the exercise and conduct a fresh one.

According to him, confusion trailed the exercise as there was no clearly designated venue for the primary, while different groups gathered at separate locations, claiming the election was ongoing.

He also alleged that there was no presence of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or recognised APC officials from Abuja and Akure at the supposed collation centre where some aspirants and supporters had assembled.

He added that after the election, the primary election appeal committee was nowhere to be found to receive complaints.

“I expected to witness a free and fair election where the people would decide who would represent them, but what I saw was nothing to write home about. There were no elections.

“In their quest to force the so-called anointed aspirant on everybody, they hijacked the whole process. The only way they could ensure the anointed aspirant won was to manipulate the process,” he stated.

Akinyomi disclosed that aggrieved aspirants had petitioned the APC National Working Committee, demanding the cancellation of the primary and the conduct of a fresh election in line with the Electoral Act and democratic principles.

He said, “We have written a petition to the National Working Committee. We submitted our petition. I don’t know how far the petition has gone, but we tried. They said there was an appeal committee in Ondo State. We tried to locate them. We heard they were at the party secretariat. We went there to submit our petition to the appeal committee, but they were nowhere to be found.

“I’m not demanding that anyone should be declared winner because there were no elections. I’m demanding cancellation and that the election should be conducted properly, as laid down by the electoral reforms.

“That is my single demand. You can’t ask for a result to be declared when there was nothing to declare. What they declared was just something that never happened. A fresh election should be conducted.”

However, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC in the state, Mr. Steve Otaloro, denied the allegations, saying the process of the primary was free, fair and transparent and not manipulated by the leadership.

“The Ondo State chapter merely provided the necessary administrative and logistical support required for the smooth conduct of the exercise, as is the practice across the federation.

“It is therefore inaccurate and unfair to allege that the state leadership ‘hijacked’ a process over which it had no constitutional mandate to conduct, supervise or declare results.

“The outcome of the primaries conducted nationwide has since been received, reviewed and validated by the national leadership of the party. Where genuine complaints arose, the APC provided constitutionally recognised channels, including appeals and petitions, through which aggrieved aspirants could seek redress.”

Otaloro maintained that the APC remained one united family, adding that “we are confident that all genuine concerns will be addressed through the appropriate channels provided by the party.”