Adewusi, Lanlehin others demand Oyo ACN primary result cancellation

Aggrieved aspirants of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Oyo State yesterday demanded the cancellation of the result of the purported party primaries in which Senator Abiola Ajimobi was picked as the ACN governorship candidate.

The aspirants, acting under the aegis of Body of Political Office Aspirants of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oyo State, kicked against what they called imposition of candidates by the party's leadership and insisted that nothing short of democratic election as stipulated by the party's constitution and the Electoral Act would be acceptable to them.

Rising from a crucial stakeholders meeting, involving the governorship, National Assembly, House of Assembly aspirants and their supporters, they described last Friday's 'affirmation primary' at the Olubadan Stadium as a charade, declaring that no candidate had emerged as Ajimobi and others hand picked as the party's candidates for various elective offices were unpopular and could never win in party primaries.

In a communiqué, the meeting, which was attended by some of the governorship aspirants, including Dr. Ismaila Adewusi, Mr. Femi Lanlehin and Mr. Kazeem Adesile as well as former attorney-general of the state, Bayo Lawal, alleged that recent defectors from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members planning to cross-carpet constituted over 70 per cent of the ACN candidate's list which was 'unilaterally selected or imposed by the ACN leadership at the expense of original members who laboured to build the party.'

The disenchanted aspirants observed that this negated the progressive principles of Chief Obafemi Awolowo which the ACN leaders professed to be strict followers.

They, therefore, called on the party's hierarchy to adopt an acceptable democratic process of choosing candidates at all levels and review the errors complained of. The body asked the Independent National Electoral Commission not to recognise the purported nominations, which they described as illegalities. The communiqué was copied the party's national chairman, state chairman, INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, and INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner.