Confusion erupted at the Ondo State Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Akure on Sunday evening after suspected political thugs disrupted the announcement of the remaining House of Representatives primary election results in the state.
The incident reportedly forced members of the party’s National Assembly Election Committee, journalists and other party officials to flee the venue over safety concerns.
The APC had earlier announced results for three of the nine federal constituencies where primaries were conducted on Saturday. Those declared included Hon. Omowunmi Olatunji, who emerged winner of the Akure South/Akure North Federal Constituency primary with 9,237 votes; Dr Olumuyiwa Daramola, who secured the Okitipupa/Irele ticket after polling 6,547 votes; and the lawmaker representing Ondo East/Ondo West Federal Constituency, Dr Abiola Makinde, who won with 10,847 votes.
However, results for six other constituencies, including Akoko North-East/North-West, Akoko South-West/South-East, Owo/Ose, Idanre/Ifedore, Ilaje/Ese-Odo and Odigbo/Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo, had yet to be officially declared as of Sunday evening.
The whereabouts of the election committee members had remained unknown since Saturday night, fueling speculations and tension among party members and aspirants.
Trouble reportedly started when the Chairman of the National Assembly Election Committee, Hon. Iboroma Harry Dabibi, alongside other committee members, arrived at the APC secretariat around 7pm to resume the announcement of the outstanding results.
Eyewitnesses said the situation turned chaotic after one of the disqualified aspirants from Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency allegedly stormed the venue with suspected thugs in an attempt to halt the process.
Sources within the party alleged that the aspirant handed his phone to the APC state chairman, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole, to speak with a caller said to be a senior female commissioner in the state government.
The caller was alleged to have directed the party leadership to suspend the announcement of the remaining results pending the resolution of disputes surrounding aspirants who were reportedly not cleared in the Owo/Ose and Idanre/Ifedore federal constituencies.
Shortly after the phone conversation, the atmosphere at the secretariat reportedly became tense, with suspected thugs forcing their way into the conference hall and disrupting proceedings despite the presence of security operatives.
Committee members, journalists and party officials were said to have hurriedly left the venue to avoid possible attacks.
Some members of the committee were reportedly heard expressing fears over their safety, insisting they could not continue the exercise under such conditions.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC had yet to officially announce the outstanding results from the six affected federal constituencies.
