Thirty-three chairmanship and 351 councillorship candidates of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State have approached the Federal High Court in Ibadan to challenge reports of a fresh primary election for the forthcoming local government elections.

The plaintiffs, who emerged as candidates in the APM local government and councillorship primaries held across the state on August 3, 2026, are seeking an order restraining the party from conducting another primary for the same positions.

According to reports, the August 3 primaries were monitored by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), with the results subsequently submitted to the commission.

The candidates said they instituted the suit following reports that the APM National Chairman was seeking to nullify the earlier primaries and conduct a fresh exercise.

The development followed the emergence of rival sets of candidates within the party, with one faction reportedly backed by a party chieftain in the state, Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan, and another associated with the camp of Governor Seyi Makinde.

In the suit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether OYSIEC can accept or recognise more than one candidate nominated by the APM for the same local government or ward after the commission had monitored the August 3 primaries.

They are also challenging the possibility of OYSIEC monitoring another APM primary for the same positions, arguing that the electoral commission had already monitored the earlier exercise.

The plaintiffs further want the court to determine whether individuals whose names were not contained in the party’s membership register submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within the period prescribed by law can participate in the party’s primaries.

The Allied Peoples Movement, its National Chairman, OYSIEC, and INEC are listed as defendants in the suit.

The plaintiffs are consequently seeking the declarations and orders contained in their Originating Summons as the dispute over the APM’s candidates for the forthcoming local government elections continues. (Nigerian Tribune)

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