The All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary election held in Lagos Mainland on Saturday was thrown into controversy following allegations of widespread irregularities, voter intimidation, and disruption of the electoral process across several voting centres.
The aggrieved delegates spoke in separate interviews with correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who covered the election on Saturday in Lagos.
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The disruption was reported in areas including Apapa Road, Makoko, Iwaya, Adekunle, and Old Yaba Road, where party members and delegates allegedly faced intimidation and were prevented from participating freely in the exercise.
Kazeem Omolaja and Abdulhakeem Animashaun vied for the position.
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NAN reports that the development created tension and confusion, as aggrieved members accused some party leaders of attempting to manipulate the process in favour of a preferred candidate.
According to eyewitnesses and party members, supporters of Kazeem Omolaja allegedly disrupted the exercise by forcing out participants and delegates of Abdulhakeem Animashaun from the voting centres in the affected areas.
Speaking after the exercise, some loyalists of Mr Animashaun rejected the outcome of the primary election, insisting that the process failed to meet acceptable democratic standards.
“We reject whatever outcome emerges from today’s election because the process was flawed and manipulated,” one of the supporters stated during the protest.
Party members present at the election grounds further called on the APC leadership to investigate the allegations and ensure justice for all aspirants and their supporters.
Security personnel were deployed to some of the affected centres to maintain law and order and prevent the situation from escalating further.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC leadership in Lagos Mainland had yet to issue an official statement regarding the allegations and the disruption that marred the exercise.
Samson Sambaqi, one of the APC delegates in the Mainland area, described the election as incredible.
He said that no election took place in all the wards under the Mainland Local Government, while he described the election as marred by irregularities among the party officiating leaders.
“There are so many touts chasing us with harmful objects. We are no longer comfortable with the oppression,” Mr Sambaqi said.
Also speaking, Ganiyu Allison urged APC leaders to look into the election, adding that a person was counted about five times, which he said showed there was no equity in today’s primary election in the Mainland area of Lagos.
Another delegate, Folake Ogunlade, who also voted in the Municipal area along Apapa Road, said the election was inconclusive.
She said she witnessed families coming and being counted one after the other without accreditation or party identification cards.
In his response during a briefing after the election process in the Mainland area of Lagos, one of the six aspirants for the House of Representatives, Abdul-Hakeem Animashaun, said the primary election was not free and fair.
Mr Animashaun said before Saturday, the delegates in his constituency hoped for a peaceful primary election.
He lamented the desperation of some individuals, which took centre stage, adding that delegates were disappointed over the inconclusive election as a result of the disruption.
“Information we have before today is that all delegates should come with their membership registration slips with means of identification.
“To our surprise, when we got there, they asked everybody to line up without any form of accreditation. Aside from that, those that conducted the primaries did not show any form of identification, not with any tag, no result sheet.
“The election materials were shown to party agents, and before we knew what was happening, they commenced the process of counting. They counted one person five times while the same person would go and queue for another council,” Animashaun said.
NAN also reports that other aspirants also expressed disappointment with the primary election conducted in Lagos Mainland.
Police arrest 10 as hoodlums attack voters in Alimosho
The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended 10 suspects over the violence that erupted at the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries election at Egbe in the Alimosho area of the state.
The incident, which occurred on Onilewura Street, Liasu Road, on Saturday, caused panic among party members and residents as hoodlums stormed the venue, shooting sporadically.
The incident disrupted the process, forcing voters and party officials to flee for safety.
Several party members sustained varying degrees of injuries in the incident.
The suspects also took advantage of the chaos to rob residents and participants of their mobile phones and other valuables.
Confirming the incident, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Adeoye, said no life was lost during the attack, contrary to rumours circulating in some quarters.
He said the suspects linked to the chaos had been taken to the Ikotun Divisional Police Station for further investigation.
According to him, one locally made gun was recovered from the suspects during the operation.
“The hoodlums responsible for the disturbance have been arrested and taken to Ikotun Divisional Police Station. A gun was also recovered from them,” he said.
Mr Adeoye assured residents and party supporters that investigations would be carried out fully to determine the sponsors of the suspects and their motives, promising that the perpetrators would face the wrath of the law.
He also urged residents to remain calm and continue to cooperate with security agencies by providing useful information that could assist ongoing investigations.
Violence erupts in Mushin, voters flee venue
Violence erupted on Saturday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, forcing party members and supporters to flee for safety.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident occurred before the commencement of voting for the party’s House of Representatives primary for Mushin Constituency II.
At the time of filing this report, the exercise had yet to begin, while tension remained high around the venue.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who was at the scene witnessed chaos following disagreements among supporters of some of the aspirants.
This led to a stampede as delegates and party faithful hurriedly left the scene.
Among the leading aspirants contesting the party’s ticket were Seye Oladejo and the incumbent lawmaker, Oluwatoyin Fayinka, seeking re-election.
Other aspirants were also participating in the contest.
Several attendees expressed concern over the violence, urging party leaders and security agencies to ensure a peaceful and transparent process.
Party officials had yet to issue an official statement on the incident at the time of filing this report on Saturday afternoon
The APC primaries are being held nationwide to select candidates for the 2027 general elections.
INEC officials absent at Surulere Constituency II
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were absent at the Surulere Constituency II House of Representatives primary election held on Saturday.
A former Coker-Aguda Local Government Chairman, Quodir Onikeku, who is also a former House of Representatives aspirant, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He expressed disappointment over the APC primary election conducted across six centres within Surulere Constituency II.
NAN reports that the six wards under Surulere Constituency II are Coker, Aguda, Orile, Itire, Ijesha, and Ikate.
“What happened in the six wards under Surulere Constituency II shows a lacuna in our party.
“There was no accreditation. The officials who were supposed to conduct accreditation and voting were absent, and nothing of such took place here today,” he said.
“For someone like us, we understand the game very well, and we also know that the party has mechanisms to arrange something like this.
“What we are doing today is to show that some of us still have integrity, and we believe that in no time, this country will move forward,” Mr Onikeku said.
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He expressed concern about the 2027 general elections and appealed to APC leaders to address the issues before the forthcoming national polls.
NAN reports that the Surulere Constituency II House of Representatives APC primary was contested between Lanre Okunola and Aremu Abdul-lateef.
NAN also reports that over 500 people turned out for the election, but no accreditation took place.
An APC official and party elder entered the selected premises within the wards and randomly counted delegates. The venues were surrounded by armed security personnel.
(NAN)
