Barely four months to the 2027 general elections, the selection process of all House of Representatives candidates under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Oyo State chapter has suffered another backlash following the position that primaries were not conducted in a manner, thereby, denying aspirants and party members to exercise their democratic rights.
The seven aspirants; Hon. Engr Tunde Bello ‘’ETB’’, Hon. Engr Sanusi Ridwan ‘’STRIKAH’’, Hon. Ibrahim Lasisi OJASOPE, Hon. Nureni Adesina Abd Salam, Hon. Bakare Nurudeen, Hon. Ganiyat Olawore and Ishaq Morufat Ajibola BIBIRE, in a communique jointly issued expressed their displeasure and profound disappointment on how 14 candidates of the House of Representatives from Oyo State were selected. The aspirants said that they participated in the process with the legitimate expectation that transparent, credible and competitive primaries would be conducted in accordance with the constitution and guidelines of the party.
The seven aspirants affirmed that names of House of Representatives candidates were presented under the guise of ‘’Unity List’’ in the absence of consensus and maintenance of internal cohesion, stressing that genuine unity cannot be achieved through exclusion. The aspirants stressed that unity arrangement must emerge from broad consultation, mutual consent, fairness, and respect for every legitimate stakeholder.
The aspirants said that the absence of transparent primaries denied aspirants the opportunity to test their popularity before party members, which left many of their supporters excluded from the process they have invested their trust, time and energy.
The seven aspirants respectfully call upon the national leadership of the party to review the process, listen to all affected aspirants and establish a credible reconciliation mechanism capable of addressing the concerns arising from the unity list, stressing that party cannot afford to disregard their solid structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The concerned Oyo APC Reps aspirants reaffirmed their loyalty to the APC and support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They expressed readiness to engage constructively with the party leadership in pursuit of justice, genuine reconciliation and electoral victory.
