By Abdul Alli,
An aspirant in the recently conducted All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primary election for Ilorin East/Ilorin South Federal Constituency, Ambassador Ibrahim Tajudeen Shola (Olesin), PhD, has accused the Kwara State leadership of the party of frustrating the democratic process and preventing party members from freely choosing their candidate.
In a letter dated July 13, 2026, and addressed to Kwara State Governor and APC Leader, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, through the state party chairman and the APC Reconciliation Committee, Olesin detailed what he described as his painful experience before, during and after the primary election.
The aspirant said his decision to write the letter was motivated by a desire to strengthen the APC’s internal democracy and ensure that loyal party members would not experience similar treatment in future electoral processes.
According to him, he had remained a committed member of the APC for years, contributing financially to the party at ward, local government and state levels while also investing time and resources in mobilising support and resolving internal disagreements.
He said he complied with all constitutional requirements for the House of Representatives primary by purchasing the nomination and expression of interest forms, consulting party leaders and stakeholders across the constituency, and spending significant personal resources in pursuit of his ambition.
Olesin lamented that despite several attempts to meet Governor AbdulRazaq before the primary election, he was unable to secure an audience with the governor.
He said he had written letters, sent messages and sought opportunities to engage the governor, not to seek endorsement, but to receive guidance as the leader of the party in the state.
According to him, the lack of engagement left him feeling ignored and undervalued despite his years of loyalty and contributions to the APC.
The aspirant further alleged that the primary election, which was scheduled to be conducted through the direct primary method, was halted after party members had assembled and election materials had been deployed.
He claimed that at the venue of the exercise, some elders from Ilorin East Local Government invited him to a meeting where he was informed that Governor AbdulRazaq had a preferred aspirant for the ticket.
Olesin maintained that while every political leader has the right to support any aspirant, such preference should be pursued within the provisions of the APC Constitution and approved guidelines governing party primaries.
He argued that if consensus had been the preferred option, it ought to have been pursued before the commencement of the primary election rather than after party members had gathered to vote.
According to him, the primary election was eventually stopped and the governor’s alleged preferred aspirant was purportedly announced as the party’s candidate.
He also noted that, as of the time he wrote the letter, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC had yet to officially announce the party’s authentic candidate for the constituency.
Olesin said his greatest disappointment was not necessarily the outcome of the process but the denial of the opportunity for thousands of APC members to exercise their constitutional right to elect their candidate through a transparent and credible primary election.
He stressed that his grievance was directed at what he described as the flawed process rather than the APC as a political party.
“The APC is founded on constitutionalism, internal democracy, fairness and equal opportunity,” he stated, adding that his disappointment arose from what he perceived as the preference of an individual rather than the collective will of the party.
He called on the APC Reconciliation Committee to approach its assignment with fairness, courage and wisdom, expressing hope that the process would restore confidence among party members and strengthen internal democracy within the ruling party.
Despite his grievances, Olesin said he deliberately refrained from making inflammatory public statements in order to protect the unity and stability of the APC.
He reaffirmed his loyalty to the party while urging its leadership to embrace justice, equity, inclusion and transparent decision-making in future political processes.
