The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, has said nothing will stand in the way of the party conducting free, fair, and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo made the statement while receiving members of the Screening and Appeal Committees deployed to the state from the party’s national secretariat in Abuja at the Oke-Ado party secretariat on Monday.
He assured that no stone would be left unturned to ensure all aspirants are treated fairly in line with the principles of progressivism and constitutional democracy.
“We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across the 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.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising a free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas, even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement where necessary.
“Where we have more than one aspirant, Abuja will send people to conduct primaries, and we at the state level will provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.
“Either consensus or direct primaries, every registered party member will be involved as they will all gather at their respective wards on the date picked by the national secretariat for the primaries as they affect each elective position.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation, while voting will be done in cases of direct primaries,” Adeyemo stated.
In his address, the chairman of the screening committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured that the committee would carry out a thorough exercise to ensure only eligible aspirants are cleared to participate in the primaries and fly the party’s flag in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Other members of the screening committee include Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye, while members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.