The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State and former deputy governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo, on Monday declared that the party was ready to conduct free, fair and credible direct primaries for its governorship aspirants ahead of the 2027 election.
Adeyemo made this known while receiving members of the screening and appeal committees deployed to the state by the party’s national secretariat at the APC secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He assured aspirants of a level playing field, stressing that the party would uphold the principles of progressivism and constitutional democracy throughout the exercise.
The development came amid growing agitation by aspirants for direct primaries following reports that some stakeholders had endorsed Senator Sharafadeen Alli as a consensus candidate.
However, other governorship aspirants, including Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, former deputy governor Raufu Olaniyan, Akeem Agbaje and former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, rejected any consensus arrangement and insisted on direct primaries.
Speaking on the issue, Adeyemo said the party had initially explored consensus arrangements but might have to adopt direct primaries in some positions, including the governorship race.
“We have already set machinery in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board, but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option, which is direct primaries in certain cases, including the governorship ticket,” he said.
He added that officials from the national secretariat would supervise the primaries where necessary, while the state chapter would provide support to ensure transparent and credible exercises.
According to him, all registered party members would participate at their various wards, either through affirmation in the case of consensus or voting during direct primaries.
Chairman of the screening committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Taofiq Abdulsalam, said the committee would ensure that only qualified aspirants emerged to contest under the APC platform.
Meanwhile, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari declared his readiness for the governorship primaries, expressing confidence in his chances.
Speaking during a meeting with the state APC executive at the party secretariat in Oke-Ado, Buhari said any aspirant afraid of facing others in a primary election was unfit to fly the party’s flag.
“Any aspirant who is afraid of going into primaries with others is not competent to be the flagbearer of APC because the candidature of such a person cannot give the party the deserved victory in the general elections,” he said.
The lawmaker, who represents Oyo North Senatorial District, described himself as one of the top contenders among the 10 aspirants screened for the race and pledged to deliver good governance if elected.
As part of his support for the party, Buhari pledged to provide solar-powered lighting and computer systems for the APC secretariat. He also donated N5 million to the party and another N2 million to members of the state executive committee.
Adeyemo commended Buhari for attracting developmental projects to Oke-Ogun and appreciated his continued support for the party.
