Osun APC Pry: Claims We Weren’t Sponsored By Financial Members Untrue – Disqualified Aspirants
Disqualified governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State have faulted the party’s screening committee over their removal from the primary race, insisting the reason given for their disqualification is “entirely false.”
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Friday, the spokesperson for the affected aspirants, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) said the seven aspirants, including Senator Iyiola Omisore and Prince Dotun Babayemi, were wrongly accused of failing to secure sponsorship from fully registered and financially up-to-date party members.
Adegoke stressed that the group was not protesting or taking any confrontational action but simply exercising their right under the APC constitution to seek redress before the appeal committee.
“We are not on a protest march, and we are not launching any fight,” he said.
“The APC constitution provides that anyone dissatisfied with the screening outcome can approach the appeal committee. That is why we are here today, to show that the committee’s conclusions are incorrect.”
He dismissed the screening panel’s claim that the seven aspirants did not meet the sponsorship requirements, describing it as a contradiction of the documents already submitted to the party.
According to him, all aspirants fulfilled the stipulated conditions, including presenting party members who are duly registered and financially compliant.
“When we bought the forms, we were required to pay delegates’ dues. Delegates are known, registered members of the party,” Adegoke explained.
“We gathered 1,660 delegates — five from each of the 332 wards in Osun. We paid ₦8.3 million for their delegate forms and an additional ₦996,000 for their dues.”
He said 155 of these delegates were selected across the 30 local government areas to sign the aspirants’ nomination forms, wondering how the committee could then claim they lacked the required sponsorship.
“How can someone who successfully procured five delegates from each of the 332 wards suddenly be accused of not having five members in each local government?” he asked. “Does that even make sense?”
The aspirants urged the APC appeal committee to review the matter based on documented evidence and to reverse what they described as an unfair and unjust disqualification.
“We trust the appeal committee to look into this properly and uphold justice,” Adegoke added.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
