House: Ondo APC Leaders Reject Alleged Automatic Ticket Plot

. Consensus tears Ebonyi APC apart

Fidelis David in Akure and Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki

Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akoko South East/Akoko South West Federal Constituency of Ondo State have rejected what they described as attempts to secure an automatic return ticket for the incumbent lawmaker, Mr. Adegboyega Adefarati, insisting that due process must prevail ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The stakeholders, who described claims of federal influence to guarantee Adefarati’s re-election bid as “baseless and misleading,” subsequently adopted former Chairman of the Ondo State Hospital Management Board (HMB), Dr. Victor Ategbole, as their consensus candidate for the House of Representatives seat.

The resolution was reached at a stakeholders’ meeting held at Owalagba Town Hall, Oka-Akoko, where party leaders and delegates drawn from the 11 wards in Akoko South East and 15 wards in Akoko South West met to deliberate on the constituency’s political future.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the APC Chairman in Akoko South West Local Government, Hon. Sunday Agbede Aijulu, among other party leaders, the stakeholders dismissed insinuations that political connections at the federal level could override the party’s internal democratic processes.

They maintained that under the Electoral Act and APC guidelines, only consensus and direct primaries remain the constitutionally recognised modes for candidate emergence.

The leaders warned against what they termed “desperate attempts at name-dropping and political intimidation,” stressing that no aspirant, irrespective of perceived influence or connections, could circumvent established democratic procedures.

According to the communiqué, the decision to adopt Ategbole followed extensive consultations among party stakeholders and was in line with the earlier counsel of Ondo State Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who had urged aspirants to embrace consensus as a means of fostering party unity and cohesion ahead of the polls.

The stakeholders disclosed that three other aspirants from Akoko South East,Otunba Gbenga Elewuetu, Chief Engr. Olayinka Daodu and Mr. Segun Adurogboye, had accepted the outcome of the consensus arrangement and pledged their full support for Ategbole, the Bobagunwa of Oka Kingdom.

They, however, noted that the incumbent lawmaker rejected the consensus decision.

Justifying Ategbole’s endorsement, the party leaders cited Oka-Akoko’s voting strength, which they said accounts for about 74 per cent of the constituency’s voting population, compared to what they described as the comparatively smaller electoral base of the incumbent.

They argued that Ategbole’s candidature offers the APC the strongest chance of recording a decisive victory in the constituency, while also boosting support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

In a separate resolution, the APC chapter in Akoko South West Local Government formally ratified Ategbole’s adoption, describing the move as a product of strategic calculation, party unity and overwhelming grassroots consensus.

The meeting, attended by key party officials, elected representatives, ward leaders and elders, ended with a unanimous voice vote in support of Ategbole.

The stakeholders also resolved to begin immediate mobilisation across all wards to secure victory at both the party primaries and the general election, while calling on the APC leadership at the state and national levels to respect what they described as the collective will of party stakeholders in the constituency.

Meanwhile, crisis seems to have engulfed the Ebonyi State chapter of the APC following alleged plots to scheme out a popular aspirant for Ezza North/Ishielu federal constituency, Frank Ngwu, from participating in the direct primary of the party.

Ngwu is a former pioneer Administrative Secretary of APC during the national chairmanship of Chief John Odigie Oyegun, when the state was still controlled by the PDP.

THISDAY gathered that since the aspirant expressed his interest to contest for the position, his popularity has been gathering momentum in the state.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, noted that there was underground plot to hijack the primary election and shut him out from participating, as he would defeat the consensus candidate and incumbent, Hon. Joseph Nwobasi, if allowed to participate in the primary election.

The source emphasised that the division erupted as aspirants were not duly consulted before the consensus agreement that was announced by the leader of the party.

“Frank Ngwu remains a contestant to beat in the election. He will defeat the incumbent if all aspirants are allowed to participate in the primary election. But the Ebonyi APC is already divided over the plot to hijack and scheme out Ngwu from participating in the primary election.

“In 2023, Ngwu ‘s popularity and support for APC whittled down the voting strength of the governorship candidate of APGA, Prof Ben Odoh, in Ezza North Local Government Area. It is believed that Ngwu can win his election and other APC candidates if allowed to pursue his ambition,” the source said.

However, it was gathered that Ngwu’s principal (name withheld) has collected his Expression of Interest and nomination forms for onward submission, but it was feared that the principal may have conspired with some top politicians to withhold the submission of the forms.

This development was said to have unsettled some stakeholders in the state, who have threatened to frustrate the fortunes of APC and chances of victory of President Bola Tinubu in Ebonyi State.

A source also speculated in that Ngwu has threatened to resign his position as the Project Manager of Brass Engineering and Construction Limited if he was eventually schemed out of participating in the APC primary.