Concerned All Progressives Congress (APC) Stakeholders and Ondo State indigenes have rejected the defence of the party’s primaries by the state Attorney General of the state and Commissioner for Justice, Olukayode Ajulo, describing his recent statement as an attempt to “rewrite events that played out in broad daylight across Ondo State.”
In a statement signed by Mogbojuri Ksayode on Thursday, the group accused the Attorney General of denying alleged violence and irregularities that marred the APC primaries in the state.
The stakeholders were reacting to a statement issued by Ajulo on May 21, 2026, where he reportedly dismissed allegations of violence and manipulation during the exercise.
According to the group, Ajulo’s claim that there was “no violence” during the primaries was false and insulting to the people of Ondo State.
The statement alleged that armed non-state actors disrupted the primaries in several locations across the state, including Okelisa in Akure, where it claimed the senator representing Ondo Central narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.
The stakeholders further alleged that party leaders and aspirants were chased away, assaulted and prevented from participating in the exercise in some wards.
“For the Chief Law Officer of Ondo State to stand before the press and deny this is not statesmanship. It is complicity through silence,” the statement read.
The group also accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of violating provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 by allegedly imposing candidates instead of conducting valid direct primaries or achieving genuine consensus.
Citing Sections 84(2), 84(9), 84(10) and 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2026, the stakeholders argued that consensus candidates can only emerge when all cleared aspirants willingly withdraw through written consent, adding that no such process took place in Ondo State.
“What happened in Ondo was not consensus. There was no meeting, no unanimous written consent, and no special convention or congress to ratify the so-called consensus candidate. It was imposition,” the statement added.
The group further accused Ajulo of selective constitutionalism, alleging that he failed to speak out during previous incidents of violence involving APC members in the state.
They also questioned the Attorney General’s political history within the APC, claiming he was not part of the party’s struggle in Ondo State during the 2022 and 2023 election cycles.
The stakeholders maintained that Governor Aiyedatiwa’s electoral victory does not give him the right to undermine internal party democracy.
“The APC in Ondo State was built on consensus, consultation, and respect for party members. What we saw was the opposite: imposition, violence, and exclusion,” the statement noted.
The group called on the National Working Committee of the APC to conduct an independent review of the primaries, while also urging security agencies to investigate alleged violence in Okelisa, Akure and other affected areas.
They further urged the governor and the Attorney General to respect the Electoral Act 2026 and stop what they described as intimidation of party members.
“The era of weaponizing the office of the Attorney General to silence dissent and cover up illegality must end. Ondo State is bigger than any one man’s ambition,” the statement concluded.
