Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Agege Local Government Area in Lagos State have escalated their grievance over the party’s primary election for Agege Constituency I, marching to the national secretariat in Abuja on Friday. The delegation, spearheaded by Johnson Kolawole, voiced strong objections to the announced outcome of the exercise held on May 20, 2026, which they insist was manipulated to sideline their preferred candidate, Egunjobi Ganiyu Kola.
According to Kolawole, Egunjobi had clearly won the primary with 9,132 votes out of the 10,126 valid votes cast across the five wards in the constituency. Other contenders, Oladipo Tunde Shola and Oluwagbenga Michael Abiola, reportedly garnered 560 and 434 votes respectively. The protesters claimed that the returning officer, Hon. Kayode Kassim Eleshin, officially declared Egunjobi the winner at the venue.
However, frustration mounted when a newspaper publication dated May 25, 2026, named Oluwagbenga Michael Abiola as the APC candidate for the same constituency. The group described this as a blatant contradiction of the authentic results and demanded that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the national chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, intervene to restore what they termed the true mandate of party members.
Kolawole emphasized that the primary election was monitored by APC officials, INEC observers, security agents, journalists, and other stakeholders, and was conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and credible manner. He added that the delegation is ready to present documentary evidence, video footage from the five wards, and observer reports to substantiate their claims.
Appealing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC leadership, the protesters urged them to ensure that the genuine will of party members in Agege Constituency I is upheld and protected.