APC Youths Protest at Oyo Secretariat Over Botched Ibadan North Bye-Election Primary

Youths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ibadan North Local Government, Oyo State, staged a peaceful protest on Friday at the party’s State Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan, expressing frustration over APC’s inability to field a candidate for the forthcoming Ibadan North Federal Constituency bye-election scheduled for August 16.

The protest follows the party’s crisis-ridden primary held on July 19, which was marred by violence, accusations of manipulation, and open confrontation among aspirants and party officials. Nine aspirants rejected the outcome, alleging the exercise was fraught with fraud and insisting no credible primary took place. Multiple “winners” had reportedly been declared by different factions within the party.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed that the primary did not hold as planned, with the commission’s attempts to monitor the exercise proving abortive. Monday, July 28, remains the INEC deadline for political parties to submit their candidates, putting APC at risk of not fielding any candidate if the dispute remains unresolved.

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The protesting youths, led by Segun Adetula, called on President Bola Tinubu and other party leaders to urgently intervene and ensure a transparent and credible process, warning that the internal crisis could hand an advantage to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the bye-election. Adetula lamented, “We cannot wait to see the party being denied a candidate due to these inadequacies. We have laboured for the party, and it would be a loss should PDP win the seat”.

The bye-election was necessitated by the death of Hon. Musiliudeen Olaide Akinremi, the previous APC lawmaker for Ibadan North, who passed away on July 10, 2024.