RECONCILIATION WITHOUT RESULTS: WHY THE TIMING OF THE APC OYO POST-PRIMARY RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE IS PREMATURE, MANIPULATIVE, AND CONTRARY TO INTERNAL DEMOCRACY
The reported constitution of a Post-Primary Election Reconciliation Committee by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has generated considerable interest among party members and political observers. On the surface, the establishment of such a committee appears to be a commendable initiative. Indeed, reconciliation after a competitive primary election is an essential democratic process capable of fostering unity, healing grievances, and positioning the party for electoral success in the 2027 general elections.
However, while the objective of reconciliation is noble, its timing is fundamentally flawed. Reconciliation must be built on truth, transparency, and justice. Without these essential ingredients, any attempt at reconciliation becomes an exercise in manipulation rather than genuine peace-building.
The first question every sincere party member should ask is: **what exactly are we reconciling over when the official results of the primary elections have not been released by the competent authority?**
The National Chairman of the APC has made it abundantly clear that no organ, official, or individual outside the National Working Committee (NWC) has the constitutional authority to announce the winners of the party’s primary elections. Until the National Working Committee officially releases and authenticates the results, every purported list of winners currently in circulation remains unofficial, unauthorised, and lacking constitutional legitimacy.
This position is neither ambiguous nor subject to personal interpretation. It derives from the constitutional structure of the party itself. Consequently, every publication, announcement, or public presentation of individuals as APC candidates before an official declaration by the National Chairman, the National Secretary, or any duly authorised member of the National Working Committee raises serious legal, moral, and political concerns.
Even more troubling is the attempt by some individuals to justify the authenticity of these unofficial declarations merely because certain aspirants have reportedly been issued INEC nomination forms. Such administrative steps do not constitute an official declaration of election results and issuance of certificate of returns which ultimately confers legitimacy and authenticity. The issuance of nomination documents cannot replace the constitutional requirement of formally announcing election outcomes.
In every credible electoral process, whether conducted by a political party or by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), election results are not limited to merely naming winners. The integrity of any election lies in the publication of comprehensive results, including the number of votes scored by every contestant, supported by the official collation sheets and other statutory electoral documents.
This is the universally accepted standard of electoral transparency.
No electoral body worthy of public confidence simply announces names without corresponding vote totals. Nigerians would rightly reject any attempt by INEC to declare election winners without disclosing the scores obtained by all contestants. If political parties demand transparency from INEC during general elections, they must equally demonstrate the same transparency in their internal electoral processes.
As the timeless legal maxim reminds us, **he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.**
The APC cannot legitimately demand fairness, transparency, and accountability in the nation’s electoral process while failing to uphold those same principles within its own internal affairs.
This is why the constitution of a reconciliation committee at this stage appears not only premature but also capable of creating the impression that certain individuals are attempting to legitimise outcomes that have yet to receive official constitutional recognition.
Reconciliation presupposes that there is a recognised outcome from which aggrieved parties may either seek redress or voluntarily accept compromise. In the absence of officially declared results, there exists no legitimate foundation upon which reconciliation can meaningfully proceed.
One cannot reconcile parties over an outcome that officially does not yet exist.
Attempting to do so creates the unfortunate perception that the reconciliation committee is not intended to resolve disputes but rather to persuade aggrieved aspirants and their supporters to accept unofficial outcomes that have never been constitutionally declared.
Such an approach risks undermining confidence in the party’s democratic processes.
It also amounts to an unfortunate form of political impunity for party officials or stakeholders to continue publicly referring to particular aspirants as the APC’s candidates when the National Working Committee has not officially declared them as such. This practice not only prejudices pending internal processes but also risks creating avoidable legal complications should disputes eventually reach the courts.
The proper sequence is straightforward.
First, the National Working Committee should officially declare the authentic results of the primary elections.
Second, those results should contain the complete breakdown of votes scored by every contestant together with the necessary supporting electoral documents.
Third, any aspirant dissatisfied with the outcome should be afforded the opportunity to challenge the process through the mechanisms provided by the party constitution and the law.
Only thereafter should reconciliation commence, with all parties negotiating from a position of transparency and established facts rather than speculation and unofficial declarations.
Anything short of this sequence defeats the very essence of reconciliation.
True reconciliation cannot be founded upon uncertainty.
Peace cannot be imposed.
Unity cannot be manufactured.
Acceptance cannot be compelled.
History has repeatedly demonstrated that suppressing legitimate grievances in the interest of political expediency only postpones crises rather than resolving them. Where members perceive injustice, exclusion, or manipulation, resentment inevitably deepens beneath the surface.
If the APC in Oyo State genuinely desires victory in the 2027 general elections, the leadership must appreciate that sustainable electoral success cannot be achieved through premature reconciliation built upon disputed processes.
Rather, the party must first restore confidence by demonstrating fidelity to its constitution, respect for due process, transparency in its internal elections, and fairness to every aspirant who participated in the primaries in good faith.
Internal democracy is not merely a slogan. It is the very foundation upon which every democratic political party derives its moral authority.
The APC must therefore lead by example.
The reported reconciliation committee, if allowed to proceed before the official declaration of authentic primary election results, risks being perceived as an instrument of validation rather than reconciliation. Such a perception would only aggravate existing tensions, deepen divisions among party faithful, and ultimately weaken the party’s electoral prospects in Oyo State.
This is why every loyal, committed, and conscientious member of the APC should question the timing of the committee’s inauguration.
The concern is not about reconciliation itself. Reconciliation remains necessary and desirable.
The concern is that genuine reconciliation must follow justice—not precede it.
Only when transparency has been established, results officially declared, grievances clearly identified, and constitutional procedures faithfully observed can reconciliation achieve its intended purpose of uniting the party.
Anything less may unfortunately become an exercise that is **dead on arrival**.
The future of the APC in Oyo State depends not merely on winning elections but on strengthening internal democracy, respecting due process, and ensuring that justice is not only done but is manifestly seen to have been done.
Comrade Femi Awogboro
Media Assistant to Chief Adebayo Adelabu
