SOME APC members in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, protested today against what they saw as irregularities and bias in the ward primaries which was held across the state yesterday.
These primaries were intended to select the party’s gubernatorial candidate for the November 16, 2024 election in the state but were marred by a lack of election materials.
The protesters demanded the cancellation of the ward primaries and gathered at the APC state secretariat in Akure to express their dissatisfaction with the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the primaries across the state’s 203 wards.
Many of them were supporters of Olushola Oke, one of the aspirants, and they carried placards requesting the national secretariat to remove the chairman of the primary election committee, Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo.
They described the process as unfair and urged the national secretariat not to let the state descend into crisis.
One of the protester stated that no ward primaries took place, noting that the guidelines provided by the national secretariat were not followed as the committee failed to distribute materials to any wards.
The party members warned of potential consequences if an unpopular candidate is imposed on them, as it could harm the party’s chances in the gubernatorial election.
Ododo had announced that polls would be held in all 13 wards of Okitipupa Local Government Area today due to reports of the primaries not taking place there yesterday.
Two aspirants and agents of other contestants raised concerns about the conduct of the primary, alleging that the process seemed designed to favor certain candidates.
They condemned the delays in the distribution of materials and called for an investigation into the process.