No fewer than 12 aspirants for the National Assembly and House of Assembly seats under the factional platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, described the primary election held in the state last week as a sham and asked the national leadership of the party to cancel the exercise.

The aggrieved aspirants, under the Osun Progressives (TOP), a group in the party loyal to the former governor of the state and current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, at a press conference in Osogbo alleged impunity, charade, confusion and manipulation of the primary.

A speech, delivered on behalf of the aspirants by Waseeu Adebayo, a two-term House of Assemblymember from Olorunda State Constituency, stated: “It would be recalled that the primary election for the state House of Assembly was slated for May 26, 2022. To our dismay and chagrin, till the day of the primary, there was no communication on the modalities for the election. The committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election was not known to anybody. We considered that as a deliberate way of tactically excluding us from the race.

“The same scenario was repeated for the House of Representatives primary, which took place on May 27, 2022, and up till this moment, there are no official results for both the House of Assembly and National Assembly primary elections in Osun.

“May we note that with the high level of impunity and manipulation involved in the process and shenanigans engaged to get rid of us, the joke has now turned on Governor Oyetola’s group, as all its aspirants in various constituencies are laying claims to victory and confirming it with concocted figures aimed to support their fraudulent act. It is unheard of, even a shameful experience, that four days after the primaries have been held, the governor and his collaborators in the party are unable to declare winners in the contests.

“The information at our disposal is that all the result sheets are currently in the custody of Oyetola and they are being filled with the names of his cronies who never won the primary election.

“We call on the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to correct the impunity and rape of democracy being displayed before it is too late.

“We also demand the cancellation of the primaries, while fresh elections should be conducted.”
MEANWHILE, speaking on a radio programme in Osogbo yesterday, the state’s Commissioner for Works and Transport, Remi Omowaiye, said the party leadership would make the results of the primary elections public at the appropriate time.

He said: “What gives you the impression that the party had not announced the winner? If we decide as a party that we will want to make it known to the press, that’s the decision of the party but you can’t be too sure that the party had not made its decision. The primaries had been held, results had been collated, winners had emerged and at the appropriate time, the party leadership would make the results known to the public if they want to do that.”