Women and youth members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on Thursday staged a protest, blocking the busy Ilesha-Owo Expressway over the National Assembly candidates’ list released by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

The protesters, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Respect the Will of Party Members,” “No to Candidate Substitution,” “Restore Our Mandates,” “Justice for APC Aspirants,” and “NWC, Reverse the List Now,” disrupted traffic for several hours, leaving motorists and commuters stranded.

They demanded the withdrawal of the list and the reinstatement of what they described as the authentic candidates who emerged from the party’s May primaries.

The demonstrators accused the party leadership of replacing candidates who won the primaries, alleging that the list released by the NWC did not reflect the outcome of the ward and local government elections conducted across the state’s 203 wards.

The protest also caused a traffic gridlock that temporarily delayed the convoy of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who was returning from Osogbo, Osun State.

Addressing the protesters, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Seun Osamaye, described the demonstration as a peaceful rejection of what she called a “fake list” circulating online.

“We know those we voted for and those who won the elections. What is being circulated does not reflect the people’s mandate.

“This is a peaceful protest. We say no to mago-mago appeal, no to fake appeal and no to corner-corner appeal. People’s votes should count,” she said.

Osamaye expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would ensure justice prevailed.

“We know President Tinubu is a man who listens and believes in justice. What we are demanding is simple: let the people’s votes count,” she added.

She also urged the APC National Working Committee to publicly explain the appeal process that allegedly resulted in changes to the candidates’ list.

“Let Nigerians know the appeal that overturned the will of party members,” she said.

The APC State Women Leader, Princess Oluwayemisi Iji-Ayeola, maintained that credible primaries were conducted across the state’s 18 local government areas, insisting that the names released by the NWC did not reflect the actual results.

“This is a slap on the APC in Ondo State and a direct affront to our leader, Governor Aiyedatiwa,” she alleged.

According to her, the APC State Chairman, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole, had visited the party’s national secretariat several times without resolving the issue.

“We have authentic results from ward, local government and state levels. We want candidates chosen by members, not imposed ones,” she said, warning that more protests could follow if the party failed to address their grievances.

A youth leader of the party, Bright Ojo, described the development as a threat to internal democracy.

“The people voted and the results reflected their wishes, but suddenly names were changed. We will resist every attempt to subvert the mandate of our members because nobody can suppress the will of the people,” he said.

Security personnel were deployed to the scene to prevent hoodlums from hijacking the protest and to restore normalcy, while efforts were made by officials to persuade the demonstrators to reopen the highway. (Vanguard)

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