Lagos APC Primaries: Aspirants protest, demand cancellation of results

MEMBERS of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos State, yesterday, stormed the party’s secretariat in Ogba, protesting alleged irregularities that characterised the recently concluded House of Representatives and State House of Assembly primary elections in several constituencies.

The protesters, comprising party members, supporters and loyalists of aggrieved aspirants, called on the APC leadership and the party’s various appeal committees to investigate the conduct of the primaries and reverse what they described as widespread violations of the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines.

Among the constituencies at the centre of the controversy are Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, Amuwo Odofin Constituency II, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency, Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I, Somolu Constituency II, Alimosho Constituency, Agege Constituency 1 and Eti-Osa Constituency 1.

A House of Representatives aspirant, Ayodele Adebowale Adewale, who challenged the outcome of the APC primary election in Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, alleged that the exercise conducted across the constituency’s 11 wards was marred by serious procedural irregularities.

He claimed that no official APC membership register was presented during accreditation, while party members were allegedly accredited merely through the presentation of APC slips without proper verification of identity or membership status.

The aspirant further alleged that many of the slips used during the exercise were unofficial and may have been mass-produced outside approved party structures.

Adewale consequently urged the committee to conduct a full and independent investigation into the accreditation and voting processes across the 11 wards, review all materials and procedures used during the exercise, nullify the results of the House of Representatives primary election in the constituency and ensure strict compliance with APC constitutional provisions and electoral guidelines in future exercises.

Similarly, House of Assembly aspirant for Amuwo Odofin Constituency II, David Olukoya Doherty, petitioned the APC Primary Appeal Committee over alleged irregularities in the primary election conducted across the constituency’s seven wards.

Lagos APC sues for calm

Meanwhile, the leadership of the APC has urged aggrieved aspirants to remain calm and embrace peaceful resolution through the Appeals Committee set up for the purpose.

Chairman of APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, who spoke throug his Senior Special Assistant, SSA, on Media and Publicity, Omobola Akingbehin, said: “The All Progressives Congress is battling fresh controversy ahead of the 2027 general elections as aggrieved aspirants across several states accused the party of imposing candidates, manipulating primary election results and violating internal democratic procedures during its National Assembly and state assembly primaries.

“We wish to state categorically that the Party Chairman was neither molested nor harassed at any point during the incident." Furthermore, the Chairman was not present at the APC Secretariat at the time the event occurred.

Doherty alleged that the process lacked transparency from the outset, claiming that the “selection of returning officers was influenced in favour of the incumbent lawmaker and that aspirants were excluded from key decisions, including the choice of voting venues.”

He also raised concerns over the absence of a verified membership register and alleged that accreditation was conducted using APC slips without proper identity checks.

He urged the committee to “conduct a full, independent and transparent investigation into the election across the seven wards, review all accreditation materials and procedures, nullify the primary election results, discipline individuals found culpable of any wrongdoing and guarantee strict adherence to APC rules and guidelines in future primaries.”

Speaking at the protest, Mr Moses Omonera, from Kirikiri Ward B, Amuwo-Odofin, said that the people were simply requesting that their mandate be given to them, adding that they want Dohery to represent them in the forthcoming Lagos State House of Assembly general election. 

Omonera said: “There were manipulations, and it is not the original result that was announced. Some of these results, the original sheet, were not brought to the voting ground. They went somewhere to manipulate figures. So whatever figures you are seeing, they are manipulated figures. It is not a true reflection of the people’s will.”

Omonera added that they were tired of the situation where political hijackers come to take the mandate of the people.

In Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency, another petition alleged widespread procedural violations, result manipulation and irregular collation of results during the House of Representatives primary election.

 The petitioners claimed that electoral officers failed to report to the designated collation centre and that results were allegedly collated and altered elsewhere before being submitted to party officials.

They further alleged that votes were recorded in some wards where elections either were not hold or were disrupted by violence.

Specific allegations included the inflation of vote figures in Ago-Hausa, Temidire I and Olodi wards, the absence of membership registers in several wards, failure to conduct proper accreditation and incidents of voter intimidation and exclusion.

The petitioners, therefore, requested a thorough investigation into the conduct of the election, verification of original ward-level results, forensic examination of disputed result sheets and signatures, and a review to ensure that the final outcome reflects the genuine votes cast by party members.