IBRAHIM QUADRI
A House of Representatives aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress for Ikeja Federal Constituency, Olalekan Ayinla, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the leadership of the party to urgently intervene in what he described as his unjust exclusion from the APC primary election process.
Speaking during an interview in Ikeja, Ayinla said he was duly screened and cleared by the party’s national leadership in Abuja and had fulfilled all constitutional and administrative requirements to contest the Ikeja House of Representatives primary.
He, however, expressed shock that his name was omitted from the list of accredited aspirants without any official explanation from the party.
According to him, the development contradicts the principles of fairness, transparency and internal democracy which the APC is expected to uphold.
“I completed every requirement demanded by the party. I was screened and cleared in Abuja, so it is disturbing that I was excluded without any form of explanation,” he said.
Ayinla also lamented that the party’s primary election is scheduled to take place on Friday, a situation he said leaves him with virtually no opportunity to formally challenge or appeal the purported exclusion before the exercise.
“The timing makes the situation even more troubling because the primary is already fixed for Friday. It effectively shuts the door against any meaningful appeal process,” he stated.
The aspirant warned against what he described as attempts by certain interests to manipulate the party’s internal process and impose predetermined outcomes.
“No individual or group should be allowed to undermine the integrity of the party by denying duly cleared aspirants the right to participate in the primary election,” he added.
Ayinla maintained that his ambition was driven by a commitment to grassroots development, youth empowerment and quality representation for residents of Ikeja Federal Constituency.
While reaffirming his loyalty to the APC, he called for immediate redress and urged the party leadership to act decisively in the interest of justice, equity and the credibility of the party’s democratic process.
