By The Metro 
Chairmen of the 18 Local Government Areas in Ondo State have urged President Bola Tinubu to step into the dispute over the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Assembly primaries, insisting that only candidates who emerged from the exercise should be recognised by the party.
The council chairmen said the list of candidates recently produced by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) differed from the results submitted by the electoral committees that conducted the primaries.
Speaking for the chairmen, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Ondo State, Gbenga Fasua, said their appeal was informed by the need to preserve the credibility of the party’s internal democratic process.
Fasua, who also serves as Chairman of Akure South Local Government Area, said the primaries were conducted by duly constituted electoral committees in line with the APC constitution and guidelines.
He described the exercise as peaceful, transparent and credible, adding that the electoral committees forwarded the authentic results to the appropriate organs of the party, including the National Working Committee, in line with established procedures.
He, however, said candidates whose names were not contained in the results returned by the electoral committees later emerged as the party’s nominees.
According to him, the development has unsettled party members and stakeholders across Ondo State and could diminish confidence in the APC’s internal democratic process while deepening divisions within the party.
Fasua appealed to Tinubu, as the APC’s national leader, to ensure that justice prevails by upholding the outcome of the primary elections conducted in the state.
He expressed confidence that the President’s intervention would reinforce the party’s integrity, strengthen confidence in its democratic institutions and encourage reconciliation among stakeholders.
The ALGON chairman maintained that their position was based solely on what transpired during the primaries, stressing that candidates emerged through votes cast by party members and winners were publicly declared at the end of the exercise.
He commended Tinubu for his leadership and commitment to democratic principles, while also praising Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for fostering peace, unity and stability within the APC and the state.
Fasua also dismissed speculation that the local government chairmen were mobilising for a protest, saying they were not planning to stage any protest and that what they had presented was simply an appeal to the National Working Committee of the party.