The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress House of Representatives primaries in Ondo State took a dramatic turn on Sunday as confusion and disruption halted the declaration of outstanding results, nearly 48 hours after the exercise was conducted across the state.
The party has remained at a crossroads since the primaries held on Saturday in the nine federal constituencies, with several aspirants still laying claim to victory while official results from six constituencies remain undisclosed.
Tension heightened on Sunday evening at the APC State Secretariat along Olu Obasanjo Road in Akure when suspected political thugs, said to be loyal to one of the disqualified aspirants from Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency, stormed the venue and disrupted the continuation of results announcement.
Eyewitnesses said the process was interrupted when one of the disqualified aspirants allegedly arrived at the venue with a group of suspected thugs and reportedly handed a mobile phone to the state chairman of the party, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole, to speak with a caller said to be a powerful female commissioner in the state government.
The caller was alleged to have instructed the state leadership to direct the committee to suspend announcement of the remaining results pending the resolution of disputes surrounding the screening of aspirants in Owo/Ose and Idanre/Ifedore federal constituencies.
The development immediately threw the venue into chaos, as the suspected thugs reportedly chased journalists, party officials and committee members out of the conference hall despite the presence of security personnel around the secretariat.
Committee members were said to have expressed concern over their safety, insisting they could not proceed with the declaration at the risk of their lives. They subsequently left the venue and returned to their hotel rooms.
Journalists covering the exercise also fled the secretariat to avoid possible attack as the atmosphere turned hostile.
As of the time of filing this report, the official results from the six outstanding federal constituencies were yet to be declared, further deepening the uncertainty surrounding the primaries and fueling fresh controversy within the ruling party in the state.
