‎...Urges Tinubu, APC National Leadership to Intervene
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‎Senatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo North, Chief Alexander Oluremi Ajipe, has rejected the outcome of the party’s primary held on May 18, 2026, calling for a fresh review of the exercise and urging President Bola Tinubu and the APC national leadership to intervene in the matter.
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‎Ajipe made the call while addressing journalists in his hometown, Owo, Ondo State, where he described the conduct of the primary as unacceptable and inconsistent with the principles of internal democracy.
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‎The Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Hon. Iboroma Harry Dabibi, had on Tuesday night announced at the APC State Secretariat in Akure that Gbenga Elegbeleye, polled 28,062 votes to emerge winner of the North Senatorial District. 
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‎According to the committee, Ajipe Alex secured 17,313 votes, while the incumbent Senator, Olajide Ipinsagba recorded 9,819 votes. Adeogun Adejoro polled 3,845 votes, Abdul TUNJI Muhammed secured 1,076 votes, while Michael Adeyanju recorded 640 votes."
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‎Reacting to the development, Ajipe faulted the declaration of Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, as winner of the primary, insisting that the process that produced the result was marred by irregularities and lacked credibility.
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‎According to him, what transpired across Akoko South West, Akoko North East, Akoko North West, and Akoko South East did not reflect a proper electoral process but amounted to what he described as “vote allocation.”
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‎Ajipe alleged that collation and returning officers instructed party members to write results on plain sheets of paper with assurances that they would later be transferred to official result sheets at designated collation centres.
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‎He further alleged that after collecting the documents, the officials failed to show up at both the local government collation centres and the senatorial collation centre in Owo, creating confusion and uncertainty over the actual outcome of the exercise.
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‎The senator aspirant said the absence of proper collation led to conflicting versions of results circulating on social media before the eventual declaration of a winner, which he described as questionable.
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‎He maintained that before the disruption, he was leading in Akoko South East, while other contenders were also reportedly ahead in different local government areas before the process was abruptly halted.
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‎Ajipe argued that the absence of proper accreditation, voting procedures, and transparent collation undermined the credibility of the entire exercise, insisting that it could not stand as a valid election.
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‎He also alleged lapses in supervision by the primary committee and its technical team, which he said failed to ensure a transparent and orderly process during the exercise.
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‎Ajipe commended the Minister of Interior for allegedly intervening during the process to help maintain peace and prevent escalation of tensions among party members.
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‎He warned that failure to address the alleged irregularities could weaken internal democracy within the APC and affect confidence in the party ahead of future elections.
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‎“The process was completely flawed from the beginning. There was no proper accreditation, no credible collation, and what we saw was not an election in the real sense of it,” Ajipe said.
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‎“We are calling on the party leadership and President Bola Tinubu to look into this matter urgently. Justice must be done so that our party will not lose the confidence of the people in Ondo North,” he added.
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‎The aspirant expressed confidence in the APC Appeal Panel and the National Working Committee, urging them to thoroughly review the conduct of the primary in line with the party’s constitution.
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‎He concluded by calling on President Bola Tinubu and the APC national leadership to urgently intervene in the matter, insisting that only a transparent review would restore confidence and unity within the party in Ondo North.
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