Leaders, elders, and stakeholders from Ekiti Local Government Area have called for the total cancellation of the exercise within the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency following the crisis trailing Saturday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary elections in Kwara State.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Ilorin, the elders claimed that what was supposed to be a transparent democratic exercise was turned into a complete mockery of internal democracy aimed at imposing an unpopular candidate on the federal constituency.
The stakeholders, in a joint statement signed by the Chairman of the group, Hon. Alhaji Olaiya Bello and the Secretary, Elder Chief Ayobola Samuel revealed that no voting took place in any part of Ekiti Local Government Area on Saturday.
According to the leaders, thousands of party faithful who trooped out to participate in the direct primary election were left completely stranded as electoral officials failed to show up across the local government’s wards.
“Ekiti Local Government is a major and integral component of the Federal Constituency,” the statement emphasized.
“Denying party members from the area the opportunity to vote in the direct primary amounts to disenfranchisement, injustice, and a gross violation of their constitutional and democratic rights within the party structure.” they said.
The elders also raised concerns over the complete absence of officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti Local Government to monitor or supervise the exercise, as mandated by the Electoral Act.
They argued that the absence of statutory supervision allowed individuals to fabricate results in dark corners, making any figures currently being paraded for the federal constituency completely illegitimate and unrepresentative of the people’s will.
The group drew parallels between Saturday’s exercise and the controversial March 25, 2026, Local Government Congress, noting that the latest manipulation has set a highly dangerous precedent for the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Warning that the deliberate suppression of voting rights would breed resentment and fracture the party’s chances, the elders made an urgent appeal to both state and national authorities, demanding the Immediate Executive Review urging urgent investigation by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the state party leadership into the irregularities.
They also called for the outright cancellation seeking the immediate nullification of any purported results generated from the flawed process.
Similarly, they called for a Fresh Primary Election, that will seek to a conduct of a fresh, transparent, and credible exercise across the four local governments making up the federal constituency under full INEC supervision.
While urging their teeming supporters across the wards to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding, Hon. Bello and Chief Samuel maintained that their stance was purely to preserve equity and justice, warning that loyalty to the party must not be mistaken for silence in the face of injustice and impunity.