By-Election: Aspirants reject purported APC primary in Ibadan North

Aspirants under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ibadan North have rejected the alleged conduct of the party primaries at a venue with no official congress convened.

This is contained in a communique addressed to the APC National Secretariat in Abuja and signed by six out of the 10 aspirants and made available to our correspondent on Monday.

The communique which was signed by Olaleye Segun (Ward 11), Lapade Idris (Ward 5), Farouk Arisekola (Ward 5), Adekunle Oladeji (Ward 10), Saheed Aderounmu (Ward 8) and khalil Mustapha (Ward 5), was copied to President Bola Tinubu, APC National Executives, National Working Committee, and Delegates Congress Committee.

Also copied were the State Chairman, Alhaji Olayide Abas, Oyo APC Executives, State Working Committee, INEC, party members and all stakeholders in Ibadan North Federal Constituency.

The signatories raised concern over the absence of a delegates’ congress which was a constitutional prerequisite for conducting valid primaries.

They cited breach of party rules and electoral guidelines, describing any outcome from the purported primary as illegal, illegitimate, void and would remain unacceptable.

The aggrieved aspirants noted that the leadership of APC in Ibadan North also aligned with their rejection, urging the public to disregard any claims from the said primary.

They also called on the APC National Working Committee to uphold internal democracy by ensuring credible elections.

The aspirants further reaffirmed their loyalty to the party and called for immediate intervention and the conduct of a transparent, inclusive and constitutionally compliant primary election in Ibadan North.

They called for fairness and transparency in the up-coming constituency by-election process, while urging all stakeholders to prioritise internal democracy and justice to restore confidence among party faithful in the federal constituency.