Hundreds of aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State on Saturday staged a protest at the private residence of the party’s state chairman, Sunday Fagbemi, over allegations of manipulation in the recently concluded party congresses.
The demonstration, which occurred in the early hours of the day in Ilorin, saw party members chanting protest songs and repeatedly shouting “Olè! Olè!!”—a Yoruba word meaning “thief”—as they accused the chairman of altering the list of elected party executives and imposing preferred candidates.
The protest created tension around the chairman’s residence as supporters gathered to demand that the party leadership respect the list of executives affirmed during the congresses held across the state.
According to the protesters, the congresses were conducted at ward, local government and state levels in line with directives from the party’s national leadership. They said the exercise was designed to reaffirm existing executives through a consensus and affirmation process.
Participants in the protest claimed the exercise was peaceful and transparent, noting that security operatives and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the process in several locations.
One of the protesters alleged that attempts were being made to alter the outcome after the congresses had already been concluded.
“We followed the directive of the national leadership that the congress should be done by affirmation. The existing executives were returned unopposed, and everything was done openly in the presence of security agencies and INEC officials,” the protester said.
“But what we are seeing now is an attempt to doctor the list and replace the names of those who were affirmed with names of other people.”
Another party member warned that any attempt to impose candidates could trigger a major internal crisis within the party in the state.
“We will not accept imposition. The authentic list that was affirmed during the congress must be respected. If the names are changed, it will create serious problems for the party,” the member said.
The protesters maintained that the affirmation congresses reflected the collective decision of party stakeholders at the grassroots level and warned that altering the results could undermine the credibility of the process and weaken internal democracy within the ruling party.
They called on the national leadership of the APC to intervene and ensure that the original list of executives produced during the congresses is upheld.
As of the time of filing this report, Fagbemi had not publicly responded to the allegations raised by the protesting party members.