Three Aspirants Challenge Lagos NDC Primary Results

Three people running for the House of Representatives seat in Ojo Federal Constituency, Lagos State, under the Nigeria Democratic Congress have written to the party's national leaders. They claim that there was no proper primary election and that a candidate was forced on them.

The angry candidates, led by Godwin Ezeoke, are asking the party to cancel the results and hold a new primary.

In a petition our reporter got on Tuesday, Ezeoke addressed it to the National Chairman through the National Secretary. He claimed that party officials declared a winner even though there was no primary election.

The petition, signed by lawyer C.C. Iloabanafo, called the action "unprecedented, unlawful, unconstitutional, undemocratic, and arbitrary."

Ezeoke accused some party officials, including the chairman and secretary, of ignoring the party’s rules by announcing a candidate without conducting a primary.

He warned that this situation could lead to lawsuits, harm the party's reputation, and attract possible sanctions in the elections.

"The declaration of a winner without an election has caused a lot of anger, tension, and distrust among party members in Ojo Federal Constituency," he said.

Another aspirant, Ifeanyi Okparaugo, supported the claim. He said there were no electoral officials at the venue where the primary was supposed to happen.

"There was no election. I only saw people lining up with no electoral officials around. When I asked questions, no one listened to me," he said.

Okparaugo also said that officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission were missing from the venue.

A third aspirant, Ola Ogunlana, also insisted that no primary election took place.

"If they say there was a primary, they should show proof because nothing looked like an election," he said.

The aspirants also said that the location for the exercise was paid for by another candidate, not the party, raising doubts about the process's honesty.

They called on the National Working Committee to cancel the declared results, withdraw recognition from the announced winner, hold a new primary, and set up an independent panel to investigate the matter.

In response, the party’s spokesperson, Osa Director, said they have set up a reconciliation committee to handle the disagreement.

"We have set up a reconciliation committee. I want that to reach the state, local government, and ward levels," he said.

The director admitted that not all unhappy members had been included but was hopeful that the issue would be sorted out soon.

He said, "We have not managed to include everyone yet. In the next 24 to 48 hours, we will do that. We don’t want even one single person to leave because of one person."