The All Progressives Congress candidate for Osun Central Senatorial District, Kunle Adegoke, SAN, has said the emergence of legislative candidates in the party’s recent primaries was a product of internal democracy and not imposition by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, or any individual.
Adegoke stated this in reaction to comments by Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi, popularly known as Ajagunla, who claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was willing to grant him an automatic return ticket to the Senate on the APC platform but that Oyetola, as APC leader in the state, changed the arrangement.
According to KRAD, the conduct and outcome of the primaries showed that the party provided a level playing ground for aspirants to test their popularity and accept the verdict of party members who voted in the direct primaries.
“The Osun APC primaries were an exercise in internal democracy. Candidates emerged through the processes established by the party, and those who participated had the opportunity to present themselves to members of the party,” he said.
Adegoke noted that while political leaders have the right to express preferences and offer strategic advice within the party, such preferences should not be mistaken for the formal process through which candidates emerge.
He said Oyetola, as leader of the party in Osun, allowed the process to run its full course rather than substituting personal preference for the decision of party members.
“Alhaji Oyetola allowed internal democracy to prevail. He provided the leadership required for the party to conduct its primaries, but he did not replace the delegates or the electoral process.
“Where there is a primary election, there will naturally be expectations, preferences and political calculations. But the outcome must be respected when it is produced through the established process,” he stated.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stressed that the emergence of candidates for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate should be viewed within the broader context of the party’s effort to strengthen its structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He added that the primary election was not a contest between individuals but a process through which party members elected those they wanted to fly the party’s flag.
“Politics is about people. Every aspirant has supporters, every leader has opinions, and every constituency has its own calculations. But at the end of the day, democracy requires that we allow the appropriate process to determine who carries the party’s flag. That is exactly what happened in Osun APC,” he said.
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