Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State’s Oluyole Federal Constituency on Tuesday staged a protest over the outcome of the party’s House of Representatives primary election, alleging that the declared winner did not emerge victorious at the poll.
The aggrieved members converged on the APC state secretariat along Molete–Oke Ado Road in Ibadan, accusing the party leadership of imposing Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe as the party’s candidate despite their claim that Hon. Gbolagade Abiodun won the primary election.
Addressing journalists during the protest, party leaders and supporters insisted that delegates overwhelmingly voted for Gbolagade but were surprised when Akande-Sadipe was announced as the winner.
“We all came out and voted massively for Hon. Gbolagade. To our surprise, we later heard that Hon. Akande-Sadipe, who came third or fourth in the exercise, was declared the winner,” one of the protesters alleged.
The demonstrators called on the party leadership to review the outcome of the primary and declare Gbolagade as the authentic winner of the contest.
“We voted for Gbolagade and no one else. We did not vote for Sadipe. The will of the delegates must be respected,” they maintained.
The protesters described the demonstration as a peaceful move to register their displeasure over what they termed the imposition of a candidate, while also questioning the credibility of the results announced by the party.
They further argued that Gbolagade enjoys widespread grassroots support, citing his contributions to community development and humanitarian efforts despite not occupying any elective or appointive public office.
Responding to the protesters, the Oyo State APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo, acknowledged receiving several commendations about Gbolagade, although he noted that he had not met him personally.
Adeyemo assured the aggrieved members that the party leadership would carefully look into their grievances and work towards an amicable resolution of the dispute.
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