A group of Ondo APC youths arrived at the APC secretariat carrying placards with messages such as “Ondo APC rejects Kangaroo primary election,” “No primary held in Ondo,” and “We demand a fresh election,” among others.
Coincidentally, their demonstration coincided with the National Working Committee meeting, where upset candidates were being persuaded to reconcile and support Aiyedatiwa for the upcoming governorship election in November.
The leader of the protesters, also a party youth leader in Akure South by the name of Kolawole Johnson, insisted that only a rerun election would appease the people in Ondo.
Speaking to reporters, Johnson urged President Bola Tinubu and other party officials to advise the National Working Committee (NWC) to appoint a new chairman for the election committee to supervise the fresh poll.
He expressed, “How can they validate the results of a primary and announce a candidate? It raises suspicions of foul play. Ondo belongs to the APC, and the APC belongs to Ondo State. We will not just stand by and let opposition parties take control of Ondo from us.
“This is why we are calling on the party to nullify the primary. There should be a rerun, and we demand a new leader for the committee overseeing us. That was not a proper primary election; it was the commodification of the APC ticket. We demand a rerun as we are discontent with the process.
“We, therefore, beseech President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in this issue. We cannot permit the opposition to wrest control of Ondo State from us.”