One of the excluded House of Representatives candidates for Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Razaq Obe, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the controversy over the revised list of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the state.
Obe’s name was reportedly replaced with that of Festus Adefiranye despite his claim that he emerged through the party’s primary and appeal processes.
Speaking in Akure, Obe questioned the legality of the alleged substitutions, saying candidates who emerged through due process had already been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said, “Whatever error that has been made by anyone, perhaps if the so-called document is a true document, the President will kick in to redress that.
“By the stipulated deadline, our names went through the normal election committee, the appeal committee and were submitted to the party, which in turn forwarded them to INEC. So, you cannot come and do a review afterwards. That’s illegal.”
Obe warned that allowing the revised list to stand would damage the party’s image and undermine internal democracy.
“In a way, it will subject the party to ridicule. APC will be purchasing its own death in instalments by allowing itself to drift in this direction,” he said.
He urged Tinubu, APC leaders and other stakeholders to intervene, adding that protests across Ondo State showed the anger of party members over the alleged substitutions.
