The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced the screening of the Senate and House of Representatives aspirants ahead of the party’s primaries.

The ruling party had scheduled the primary and election for the House of Representatives aspirants to hold on May 15, while the Senate is scheduled to hold on May 18, 2026.

Meanwhile, a chief of the party from Ekiti State, Hon. Afuye Idowu, has petitioned the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, demanding the disqualification of the senatorial aspirant and the senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Cyril Fasuyi, over non-performance.

Idowu, while addressing journalists after submitting his petition at the party secretariat on Friday in Abuja, said the petition was based on his strong conviction that an assessment of Fasuyi’s present term of office clearly indicated that he is antithetical to the ideals of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the ideology of the party.

He stated: “In the almost three years that Senator Cyril Fasuyi has been a member of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he has not personally sponsored any landmark legislation/bill that will benefit the people of Ekiti North Senatorial District, Ekiti State or Nigeria as a whole.

“He is not reported to have moved any serious motion or made any significant contributions to debates on the floor of the Senate which Implies that the people of Ekiti North Senatorial District do not have a voice of representation in the Senate.”

Idowu recalled that last year, as a concerned APC stakeholder and interested Ekiti State citizen, he did a public review of the performance and activities of some of past and present national legislators, adding that his motive was to inspire the present legislators to further improve in their service to the people that elected them.

He added: “While other members of the National Assembly were inspired to better performance by my observations, Senator Fasuyi took offence with my comments/writings and sent thugs to harass me on several occasions.

“On Thursday, 31st of July, 2025, Senator Cyril Fasuyi instigated officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Ekiti State Police Command to arrest me around 9pm at a private residence based on false allegations. It is on record that prior to that arrest, I was neither informed nor invited by the police that any complaint had been made against me.

“I was detained and taken before an Ado Ekiti Magistrate’s Court. Before my arraignment, I was informed that I could be released only if I promised that I would retract my previous statements about the poor performance of Senator Fasuyi and begin to praise him.

“When I declined to make such promises, I was led before the magistrate with an application by the RRS officers that I should be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service for 14 days while investigation into the allegations made against me by Senator Cyril Fasuyi continued.”

Idowu stressed that the magistrate granted an order that he should be remanded according to the application of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) until Monday August 4, 2025.

He noted that the charges against him were subsequently withdrawn based on lack of evidence and he was discharged.

Idowu, however, warned that if the party’s NWC refuses to disqualify Fasuyi, they would wait for him during the primary election to show him the way out.

He maintained that a non-performer like him does not deserve to be on the ballot as a candidate of the party in the 2027 elections. (THISDAY)

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