2027: APC moves to reconcile Ondo aggrieved aspirants
July 25, 2026 12:24 am
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By Peter Dada
The Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has constituted a reconciliation committee to resolve grievances arising from the party’s handling of the primaries and tickets for the 2027 general election.
To this end, the party has constituted a reconciliation committee headed by the Chairman of the Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission, Biyi Poroye.
Some aspirants who were earlier declared winners of the party’s senatorial and House of Representatives primaries had instituted legal actions against the APC, alleging that their names were removed from the list of candidates submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the party’s National Working Committee.
One of the aggrieved aspirants and former Commissioner for Energy, Razaq Obe, had also warned that the crisis could affect the chances of President Bola Tinubu and the APC in the state during the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking on the development at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Akure on Friday, the state APC Chairman, Babatunde Kolawole, said the decision to constitute the committee followed extensive consultations with the party’s leadership.
Kolawole said the committee would commence work immediately and include competent stakeholders and party leaders with state and national influence.
“There is no way we will go through political activities without issues. There will be political bickering, there will be arguments, but one thing that is good about our party is that we have internal mechanisms for resolving disagreements.
“We’ve done extensive consultations with the leadership, and approval has been given to set up a reconciliation committee that will hit the ground running immediately.
“Prince Biyi Poroye would lead the committee alongside very competent stakeholders and leaders with both state and national coverage to reconcile aggrieved members,” he said.
The APC chairman said the party was committed to resolving the disagreements arising from the primaries through its internal mechanisms.
Reacting to complaints by some aggrieved aspirants, including Obe, Kolawole said every aspirant had the constitutional right to express personal opinions but stressed that such views should not be regarded as the official position of the party.
“Those who did not win have every right to express their opinions. Razaq Obe is entitled to his opinion. He did not speak on behalf of the party, the government or the leadership. He spoke as an individual,” he said.
Obe had, in an interview with Arise TV, expressed concern over the possible impact of the crisis on the APC’s electoral fortunes in the state.
“If you say go to elections today in the state, I don’t fear for other people who are playing these games, but for the President himself. In Ondo State, he had 67 per cent of our votes in the last election, the highest in the country.
“From what we know today, nobody can beat their chest and say we’re going to win election anywhere if we go into the 2027 election,” he said.
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