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According to a report by News Central TV, on Wednesday May 20, 2026, as internal tensions flare within the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the recent legislative primaries in Ondo State, party leaders are pushing back against claims of foul play, arguing that the selection processes strictly adhered to long-standing party traditions.
Alongside disgruntled party members, public affairs analyst and APC member Oni Olalekan dismissed allegations that the screening process was uniquely corrupted.
Olalekan argued that politicians frequently praise internal party mechanisms when they win, only to label those exact same processes a travesty when outcomes do not favor them.
To anchor his point, Olalekan drew a direct parallel to the primary that brought the current Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to power.
“This same way these primaries were conducted was the same way the primaries were conducted for the current governor of Ondo state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa same way,” Olalekan stated, responding to criticisms about federal party interference. “So when you see all of this and then it favored him and his people, then how many people were disqualified?”
When countered by other panelists that the governorship race featured direct contesting on the field rather than backroom disqualifications, Olalekan maintained that the administrative screening rules have remained completely uniform across both cycles.
“When we had that, they were not disqualified. People contested, people did screening,” Olalekan clarified, noting the structural differences of a governorship race but emphasizing the procedural continuity. “But what I’m saying is that it is the same way. So either you say it is free or it is not free, whether you say it is fair or it’s unfair.”
Olalekan accused aggrieved aspirants of displaying double standards regarding internal party rules, suggesting that cries of imposition are merely a byproduct of political defeat.
“What I’m saying in essence is that this the way the primaries have always been conducted in the APC,” Olalekan declared. “So what I have seen is this: so when people are favored, it is free and fair; when they are not favored, it is bad.”
