Several aspirants that participated in the state and National Assembly primaries conducted across Oyo State from Thursday to Saturday have submitted petitions to the Appeal Committee.
Aggrieved aspirants thronged Premier Hotel, Ibadan, where members of the House of Representatives Appeal Committee sat all through Saturday. In most cases, aggrieved aspirants submitted joint petitions while there were also individual petitions.
Though, committee members declined to comment on the petitions, aggrieved aspirants explained that they took it upon themselves to submit the petitions against what they generally described as “brazen rigging” of the election.
They alleged that the election purported to have held in their federal constituencies were a sham. Some said the delegates list was produced for a single aspirants while some said the lists were diluted with strange names for a specific aspirant.
Petitions were received from at least eight federal constituencies. They include Ibadan North, Akinyele/Lagelu, Oluyole, Atisbo/Saki East/Saki West, Ibadan North East/South East and Ibarapa Central/Ibarapa North.
A source close to the committee told The Nation that petitions generally alleged rigging of the process in favour of aspirants who were declared winners.
“Their grouse was generally about the process. They alleged that the delegates lists were tinkered with, thereby giving some aspirants an advantage over others,” the source said.
In the senatorial primary, the exercise was only completed in Oyo Central Senatorial District where Dr Yunus Akintunde emerged as the party’s flagbearer.
It was gathered that the exercise was disrupted in Oyo North Senatorial District. Aggrieved party members alleged that organiaers shunned the approved venue and conducted it in a private house. Party members reportedly stormed the house and disrupted the exercise.