By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Akure
Hundreds of women and youth members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Monday blocked the convoy of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Akure as they protested the party’s revised list of senatorial and House of Representatives candidates, alleging that the authentic results of the direct primary elections had been altered.
The protesters marched through major streets of the state capital, wielding placards with inscriptions such as “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,” while demanding the release of what they described as the genuine results from the direct primaries conducted across the state’s 203 wards.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Seun Osamaye, dismissed the revised list as fake, insisting it did not reflect the mandate freely given by party members during the primary elections.
She maintained that APC members across the state knew those who emerged victorious at the ward level and condemned what she described as attempts to substitute winners through the party’s appeal process. Osamaye urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, expressing confidence that he would uphold fairness, justice and democratic principles.
A youth leader of the party, Mr Bright Ojo, described the revised list as a “democratic coup,” alleging that candidates who lost the direct primaries were being imposed on the party. He questioned the role of the APC national leadership in approving what he termed a reversal of the will of party members.
The protest followed sweeping changes approved by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) after considering appeals arising from the party’s primary elections. Under the review, Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire (SAN) replaced Dr Taiwo Fasoranti as the APC senatorial candidate for Ondo Central, while Senator Olajide Ipinsagba displaced Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye in Ondo North. Hon. Wale Kekemeke retained the Ondo South ticket.
The review also altered candidates in all six affected House of Representatives constituencies, with Donald Ojogo, Festus Akingbaso, Oluwatimehin Adelegbe, Okunjimi Odimayo, Michael Akintomide and Festus Adefiranye emerging as the party’s candidates after the appeal process.
The extensive substitutions have sparked growing discontent within the Ondo APC, with many party members insisting the appeal decisions overturned the outcome of the direct primaries and undermined the votes of grassroots members.
