A House of Representatives aspirant for the Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Monday Akinyomi, has rejected the outcome of the party’s primary election, describing the exercise as a “sham” allegedly manipulated to favour an “anointed candidate”.
In the APC direct primary held on May 16, 2026, Akingboye David was declared the winner after reportedly polling 9,284 votes to defeat other aspirants in the race.
Speaking with journalists on Sunday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Akinyomi alleged that leaders of the APC in the state hijacked the process to impose a preferred aspirant on party members.
The aspirant insisted that no credible election took place, despite the announcement of results, and called on the national leadership of the party to cancel the exercise and organise a fresh primary in line with democratic principles and the Electoral Act.
According to him, the exercise was marred by confusion as there was no clearly designated venue for the primary, with different groups gathering at separate locations while each claimed the election was ongoing.
Akinyomi further alleged that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and recognised APC officials from Abuja and Akure were absent at the supposed collation centre where some aspirants and their supporters assembled.
He also claimed that members of the primary election appeal committee could not be located after the exercise to receive petitions from aggrieved aspirants.
“I expected to witness a free and fair election where the people would decide who would represent them, but what I saw was nothing to write home about. There were no elections,” he said.
“In their quest to force the so-called anointed aspirant on everybody, they hijacked the whole process. The only way they could ensure the anointed aspirant won was to manipulate the process.”
Akinyomi disclosed that dissatisfied aspirants had already petitioned the APC National Working Committee, seeking the cancellation of the primary and the conduct of a fresh election.
“We have written a petition to the National Working Committee. We submitted our petition. I don’t know how far the petition has gone, but we tried,” he stated.
“They said there was an appeal committee in Ondo State. We tried to locate them. We heard they were at the party secretariat. We went there to submit our petition to the appeal committee, but they were nowhere to be found.”
The aspirant maintained that he was not asking to be declared winner of the exercise, arguing instead that the process itself lacked legitimacy.
“I’m not demanding that anyone should be declared winner because there were no elections. I’m demanding cancellation and that the election should be conducted properly, as laid down by the electoral reforms.
“That is my single demand. You can’t ask for a result to be declared when there was nothing to declare. What they declared was just something that never happened. A fresh election should be conducted.”
Reacting to the allegations, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC in Ondo State, Steve Otaloro, denied claims that the state leadership manipulated the process.
Otaloro said the state chapter only provided administrative and logistical support for the conduct of the primary, insisting that the exercise was free, fair and transparent.
“The Ondo State chapter merely provided the necessary administrative and logistical support required for the smooth conduct of the exercise, as is the practice across the federation,” he said.
“It is therefore inaccurate and unfair to allege that the state leadership ‘hijacked’ a process over which it had no constitutional mandate to conduct, supervise or declare results.”
He added that the outcomes of the primaries conducted nationwide had already been reviewed and validated by the national leadership of the party, noting that aggrieved aspirants were free to seek redress through constitutionally recognised appeal mechanisms.
Otaloro maintained that the APC remained united despite the grievances raised by some aspirants.
“We are confident that all genuine concerns will be addressed through the appropriate channels provided by the party,” he added.
