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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has questioned the outcome of the All Progressives Congress governorship primary in Oyo State, insisting that the vote figures being circulated do not correspond with the party’s registered membership strength in the state.
In a statement issued on Friday through his media aide, Comrade Femi Awogboro, Adelabu alleged that the primary process was manipulated and dismissed reports claiming that Sharafadeen Alli secured over 500,000 votes in the exercise.
According to Adelabu, the APC’s total registered membership in Oyo State stands at 153,640, a figure he said falls far below the votes allegedly credited to Alli.
Adelabu, who resigned from his ministerial position to contest the governorship ticket, lost the primary to Alli. He, however, urged party supporters and members to remain calm pending the official declaration of results.
The former minister maintained that figures collated from several wards showed strong support for his aspiration across the state.
“Those in charge of the results need to be careful and not to be used by anyone to truncate or alter the results because it is already clear to us from what we are collating from each ward,” the statement read.
The controversy has heightened political tension within the Oyo APC as supporters of both camps continue to react to the disputed outcome of the governorship primary.
Several aspirants had jostled for the APC ticket before the contest narrowed to key contenders, including Adelabu and Alli. Adelabu, who was the APC governorship candidate in the 2019 election before later serving in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet as Minister of Power, had campaigned on his political experience and statewide structure.
The emergence of Alli, however, has sparked fresh debate within the party, with some members calling for unity while others continue to question the transparency of the primary process.