APC HOUSE OF REPS PRIMARIES: INTRAPARTY RIVALRY, ZONING DISPUTES SPARK CONFLICT IN AKINYELE/LAGELU CONSTITUENCY AS STAKEHOLDERS CLASH OVER LEGITIMACY AND MEMBER CARDS

By Seyifunmi Odunuga 

— Palpable tension and high-stakes political maneuvering characterized the House of Representatives primary elections of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency in Oyo State today, as fierce internal disputes over legitimacy, parallel factional claims, and verification methods brought procedures to a standstill at Ward 1, closely monitored by journalists on the ground.

The exercise quickly degenerated into an administrative standstill as party faithful and key 

stakeholders clashed directly over the parameters of the internal poll. Angered by a complete breakdown in consensus regarding membership validation, certain factions within the venue accused the party hierarchy of attempting to circumvent democratic processes by enforcing a forced "yes or no" voice vote to automatically favor the sitting lawmaker, Hon. Akinmoyede Olafisoye Wasiu, popularly known as Lafisoye.

Speaking with newsmen on the field, a prominent party leader and former Councillor for Ward 1, Hon. Wasiu Ojo, declared that any process conducted without proper, widespread validation of physical members’ cards would be a complete farce and a recipe for a post-primary crisis. He noted that it was an explicit injustice to other top-tier aspirants who legitimately purchased expression of interest and nomination forms from the APC national headquarters in Abuja to be locked out of a transparent contest. According to him, frontline contenders currently being sidelined by internal manipulation include Hon. Suleiman Ahmidu, popularly known as Salahudeen Ahmidu Ajibade.

Hon. Ojo stated that there was practically no credible election happening at the venue if membership cards required to cast ballots were being suppressed. He appealed to the national leadership of the party to intervene, warning that the APC should not be associated with chaotic or fraudulent arrangements to handle sensitive primary elections. He insisted that the party must allow everyone to step onto the field to vote properly so that whoever wins fair and square takes the ticket, ensuring the rest of the aspirants can seamlessly support him to win the general election.

An open display of intraparty leadership friction further emerged when multiple local politicians addressed reporters separately, each claiming to be the certified executive authority of Ward 1. Asiwaju Salawu Kazim Kolawole maintained that the party infrastructure was unified, intact, and systematically prepared for a smooth direct exercise under his stewardship. He asserted that the political camp remained a single family pursuing a common goal to move the country forward, adding that the gathered crowd consisted of regular party members waiting peacefully alongside the ward executives.

In a swift counter-narrative, Chief Alhaji Ambali Adedẹniyi Sawu stepped forward to label the opposing camp a provocative faction, insisting that his name was the one officially cleared and certified by the APC State Secretariat in Ibadan. Alhaji Sawu stated that his leadership remained steady and completely committed to a peaceful process, adding that the older stakeholders at the venue were entirely against violence unless the alternative faction decided to aggressively disrupt the area.

Adding significant weight to the structural impasse, a prominent local executive and member of the Lagelu Local Government APC executive body, Hon. Adejare Kayode Martins, directly challenged reports that party members were left stranded without membership validation. Addressing newsmen at the venue, Hon. Adejare asserted that legitimate, registered party members who have actively participated in the party's official registration exercises absolutely possess their validation documents. He estimated that roughly 675 fully registered, valid card-carrying APC members within Ward 1 were eligible and ready to participate in the process, urging the crowd to maintain absolute decorum and cooperate with security operatives to allow the scheduled procedures to move forward smoothly.

Conversely, an influential party stakeholder, Hon. Ibrahim, expressed severe concern over backdoor processes and a lack of explicit clarity dogging the exercise. Hon. Ibrahim explained that information gleaned from internal channels indicated an attempt by specific blocks within the party hierarchy to unilaterally streamline the direct primaries to a voice consensus or restricted executive vote to sideline critical challengers. He warned that any deliberate move by the executive body to bypass fair field competition and isolate legitimate contenders who purchased expression of interest forms would significantly fracture the party's cohesion. He stated that forcing an unfair process on the grassroots would heavily compromise and jeopardize the party's ultimate electoral prospects at the general polls.

Beyond the structural power play and missing materials, the core issue threatening to permanently fracture the primary is a bitter disagreement over a historical gentleman's agreement on rotational zoning between Akinyele and Lagelu local government areas. Both Hon. Ojo and Alhaji Sawu affirmed that by virtue of the constituency's foundational political tradition, the incumbent's bid for an immediate second term constitutes a major breach of the zoning convention.

They explained that because Lagelu currently occupies the seat through the sitting lawmaker, equity demands that it immediately returns to the Akinyele axis for the next cycle to maintain administrative balance. Hon. Ojo recalled a previous election cycle where the rotation agreement was hijacked, noting that the greed of breaking the sequence directly caused the APC to completely lose that general election. Using a local proverb to describe the perceived complicity of compromised party executives, Ojo added that whoever has tasted sweetness can no longer speak the bitter truth.

Despite the high-stakes political posturing and administrative deadlock, the ward did not degenerate into physical violence. Leaders from all sides strictly enjoined their followers to avoid any form of physical assault or thuggery. The presence of external monitoring organs and security forces greatly stabilized nerves, as a unified contingent consisting of the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Oyo State Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, heavily cordoned off the congress venues.

While ward leaders noted that INEC officials maintained their scheduled early arrival times to log the proceedings, the intense disagreement over validation parameters kept the primary at a complete standstill. As of the time of filing this report, party faithful remain stubbornly gathered at the ward venue, insisting that no consensus declaration or voice vote will be accepted until the national secretariat steps in to order a proper, card-carrying direct primary election.