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Agege APC Leaders Debunk Imposition Allegation Claims

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Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Agege and Orile-Agege have roundly debunked and dismissed allegations that chairmanship and councillorship candidates were imposed on the party at the local government primary elections held last Saturday, May 10, at the party secretariat on Acme Road, Ikeja.

Substantive candidates for all 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) emerged through delegate voting and consensus for the July 12 LG elections.
However, typical of such elections, there is a groundswell of dissent and discontentment in some areas, including Agege and Orile-Agege, where Alhaji Tunde Azeez and Idowu Akinola emerged as chairmanship candidates, leading to claims of candidates’ imposition.

Rising from a meeting at the Agege Local Government Secretariat on Tuesday, the APC leadership in both councils issued a communiqué dismissing the imposition claims and affirming the candidates’ legitimacy.

The communiqué was signed by key party figures, including the member representing Agege 02 Constituency in the House of Assembly, Alhaji Jubril Kareem; House of Representatives member, Hon. Dr. Wale Ahmed; Special Adviser to the Governor on Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement, Hon. Afolabi Tajudeen; Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Hon. Afolabi Ayantayo; APC apex leader, Alhaji Safari Adaranijo; and the first executive chairman of Agege LG, Alhaji Genius Owolabi Dada.

Others are: executive chairman, Agege LG, High Chief Ganiu Kola Egunjobi; executive chairman, Orile-Agege LCDA, Hon Sunday Johnson Babatunde; Ex-Chairman, LAHASCOM, Hon. Richard Akin Osungboye; former party chairman, Alhaji Ayoni Shittu; APC Agege LG Chairman, Alhaji Tunde Azeez; APC Orile-Agege LG Chairman, Hon. Salau Olaniyi; former council chairman and former Member House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Adeshina; party leader, Elder Sunday Ajide; and former House of Assembly member, Hon. Ashimiu Adebayo.

In the communiqué, the leaders said, “As far as we are concerned, the primary elections were free and fair; and suggestions by some elements that the candidates that emerged were imposed on them are misleading. Those making these false claims are sore losers, and (had) for years, ostracised themselves from the APC and our communities.”

The communiqué read further, “To put it in context, the likes of MD of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Kayode Opeifa; ex-House of Representatives member, Dr Samuel Adejare; and three-time House of Assembly member, Oluyinka Ogundimu, have moved out of Agege for years in terms of residence and are not involved in the activities of the party in both councils.

“In the same boat is Biodun Ogunji, a chairmanship aspirant in Agege who lives in the UK with his family but came down to Nigeria weeks back for his aspiration. Same thing with his fellow failed aspirant, Bukola Sofidiya, aka Gidado, a US-based Agege politician, and Sola Osolana, who is based in the UK and was the chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Agege in the last council election in the state.

“It is a general knowledge that the leadership of the party in the state, in their wisdom, adopted consensus or delegate voting for the primaries with party local government excos as the voters.”

The leaders declared further, “In Agege and Orile-Agege, exco members were constituted about four years ago when the aforementioned persons distanced themselves from the party in both council areas and its activities, as well as stayed away from our dear communities. In that context, it is only people with limited education and obscurity of positions that would consider themselves as contenders and not pretenders in the just concluded primaries.

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Araraume’s victory at the APC senatorial primary election: A resurgence of political structure in Imo North

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Araraume

Senator Ifeanyi Araraume records a landslide Araraume Imo APC primary victory across Imo North wards in a decisive party contest (more…)

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Ondo APC Primaries, Allegations Against Governor Aiyedatiwa,False, Malicious and Criminal- AG

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False Claims Against Aiyedatiwa dismissed by Ondo Attorney General, who says APC primaries complied with due process and the law (more…)

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I Won Delta North APC Primary, Results Manipulated- Ned Nwoko

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The senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Ned Nwoko has said that he won the All Progressives Congress (APC) Delta North Senatorial primary. He adding that government manipulated the APC primaries to favour Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

He further claimed that he defeated Ifeanyi Okowa at the Delta North senatorial primary.

Nwoko stated this in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Asaba.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise, claiming the process lacked transparency and fairness.

“The process was manipulated from day one. The State Government. It’s something that they conspired to produce results for what they saw, or what they produced,” he alleged.

Senator Nwoko further stated that his camp possesses copies of the ward-by-ward results as well as video evidence from the primaries, adding that the materials had already been submitted.

“We have submitted them. Halfway through the primary, we got a message on our phones that no results should be announced at the ward level—that they should be collected and then announced later at the national in Abuja. We’ll announce the results. And so, we thought we’d be law-abiding. And suddenly, we saw some news. We saw only that one video—of one of the wards in Ika North East, which is a ward where the major assistant known to everybody that worked with the Governor, they are from that particular village, next to the Governor’s village. It was just one video, showing three people in a line, and then the rest that were probably not more than 500. That’s what I saw in the video. Although in the result, they said there were 5,000,” he explained.

Nwoko maintained that the video showing Ifeanyi Okowa being declared winner represented only one ward out of the 98 wards involved in the exercise. He challenged party officials to release results and supporting evidence from the remaining wards to ensure transparency and accountability in the process.

The statement further reads
“I want you to understand something. The video that you saw, where Ifeanyi Okowa was announced as the winner, just one video from one ward out of 98 wards. Maybe they should show us other videos. They must show us the figures,” he insisted.

The senator said he would reject any outcome upheld by the APC national leadership if it contradicts what he described as the genuine mandate of party members at the primaries.

“I wouldn’t accept. Because I have a mandate. I have a mandate by the people,” he said.

The statement threw more light on the allegations of intimidation and violence in areas considered to be Nwoko’s
strongholds,

It reads “the reports of intimidation and violence during the primaries are isolated incidents that did not affect the overall outcome.

“They were just isolated cases, maybe in about 10 wards out of 98. Not enough to make a difference,” he added.

“I left the PDP due to limited freedom to operate as a senator, alleging interference in projects and decision-making by the state leadership.

“I was in PDP. I got elected as a PDP Senator. But I realized that my people there—the Governor, Okowa himself—you know, didn’t allow me to operate freely.”

“I’m stating categorically and unequivocally that high voter turnout and video evidence from across wards demonstrated clear support for my candidacy in all 98 wards.

“They came out in mass to vote for me. It’s also an indication of who they want. I’m referring to all the videos! I hope that you should also have some videos to show you. As simple as that,” he maintained.

“I expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would intervene to review the process, while maintaining that he remained committed to the party and would not act against its interests.

“I’m not going to say I’m going to work against the party; I’m going to work for the party. But I can assure you of this: I’m sure that the President will intervene in this matter.”

“We have submitted the results from the 98 wards, with the videos. I’m not worried. I’m not thinking about working against the party, and I wouldn’t do that because of the interest of the people that make up the party, the masses. And of course, I said because also I am confident that the President will intervene in a matter of this nature,” the statement reads

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