A legal storm is brewing in Oyo State as 33 chairmanship and 351 councillorship candidates of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) have hauled their own party before a Federal High Court in Ibadan. The move comes just months before the state’s local government election, scheduled for December this year, and it is aimed squarely at stopping what the candidates describe as a looming attempt to scrap their hard-won tickets.
The dispute centers on a primary election the party conducted on 3rd August, which produced the 384 candidates across all local government areas and electoral wards in the state. But whispers have since surfaced that the APM National Chairman is mulling a fresh primary, a move that would effectively nullify the earlier exercise. The candidates, who see this as a direct threat to their political future, are not taking it lying down.
In the suit, which names the APM, its National Chairman, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants, the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to bar the party from organizing any new primary. They argue that the original vote was valid and that any attempt to overturn it would be both unjust and disruptive to the electoral calendar.
Court documents obtained on Thursday show the candidates are asking the judge to grant their requests in full, though the specifics of the relief sought remain under wraps. What is clear is that the tension inside the APM is now out in the open, and with the election fast approaching, the clock is ticking for all parties involved.
OYSIEC, the body tasked with conducting the poll, has yet to comment on the legal wrangling. Meanwhile, the candidates are hoping the court will step in and settle the matter before the party machinery grinds into motion for a repeat exercise.
