By Oyez Olatunde Rex
Fresh controversy has engulfed the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial and House of Representatives primaries in Kwara State following the circulation of multiple unofficial results amid growing protests from aspirants and party stakeholders.
Investigations revealed that tension heightened across parts of the state after different figures and “declared winners” surfaced on social media and political platforms shortly after the exercises, despite the absence of any formal announcement from the party’s national leadership.
The crisis deepened when the Kwara State APC Chairman, Sunday Fagbemi, publicly distanced the party from the circulating outcomes, insisting that no authentic results had yet been released for either the Senate or House of Representatives primaries.
According to him, only the national headquarters of the APC possesses the constitutional authority to ratify and announce the final results of the exercises.
The clarification effectively threw earlier claims by supporters of various aspirants into uncertainty and exposed what insiders described as a “dangerous rush for political legitimacy” within the party.
Multiple party sources disclosed that disagreements over delegate accreditation, collation procedures and alleged external influence triggered confusion in several federal constituencies and senatorial districts during the primaries.
In some areas, parallel victory claims reportedly emerged even before collation processes were concluded, fueling accusations of manipulation and deepening factional tensions within the ruling party.
The situation became more contentious in the Ekiti/Irepodun/Oke-Ero/Isin Federal Constituency, where a House of Representatives aspirant openly rejected the exercise and demanded a fresh primary election, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the process.
Party observers say the refusal of the state chapter to validate any result may be part of broader efforts by the APC national leadership to prevent further escalation of internal disputes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Analysts within the party also believe the development reflects ongoing power realignments in Kwara APC, where different blocs are battling for strategic control of the party structure ahead of major electoral contests.
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The uncertainty surrounding the legislative primaries sharply contrasts with the swift confirmation of the APC governorship primary result in the state, where Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu was officially declared winner by the party.
As of press time, party members and aspirants across the affected constituencies remained on edge awaiting official communication from the APC national headquarters regarding the authentic winners of the senatorial and House of Representatives tickets.
