The All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for the National Assembly seats in Ondo State may have come and gone. Still, the controversies that greeted the outcome of the exercise remain unabated.
No doubt, the results of APC primary polls sent from the state to the national Secretariat of the party were overturned by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party when they were eventually released.
Several members of the party, who were declared winners of the primaries in the state but later dropped by the NWC, have approached the court to seek redress, while some have defected to other political parties to pursue their ambitions.
It is obvious in the state that the party is divided between those who were winners at the state level and those declared winners by the NWC. The aggrieved contestants are not in agreement with the decision of the party’s leadership, as they insisted that the conduct of the primary polls followed due process.
One of the constituencies that is currently under legal contention is the Akoko South-East/South-West Federal Constituency, where the incumbent member of the House of Representatives, Adegboyega Adefarati, Dr. Victor Olusegun Ategbole, and Ajongbolo Seun contested for the ticket of APC to be able to contest in the general elections.
One of the contestants in the primaries, Dr. Victor Olusegun Ategbole, who participated in the May 16, 2026 APC primaries for Akoko South-East/ Akoko South-West Federal Constituency, has approached the court seeking redress on the final decision of the party’s national leadership on the result of the election.
In Suit No: FHC/A79/CS/59/2026 filed at the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital, by Ategbole, he is interested in the interpretation and application of Sections 84, 85 and 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 as well as other relevant laws for the determination of whether the party’s NWC has power to replace the initial results with another.
Also, Ategbole faulted the claim that he was disqualified from participating in the primary, as he was screened and cleared to contest the primary election. In the report from the National leadership, his name is on number 45, just as his name was sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He insisted that there was no time he was disqualified from participating in the party’s primary as Ategbole’s name was reflected on the APC documents forwarded to INEC for the conduct of the primary election for the Federal Constituency on 16 May 2026 Relevant documents had been duly certified by INEC to confirm the eligibility of Ategbole for the primary election.Ategbole lawfully participated in the election on 16 May,2026 as declared the winner by the Returning Officer having scored 1,2011 valid votes .
The respondents in the suit filed by Ategbole through his team of lawyers led by Dr Remi Peter Olatubora included the All Progressives Congress (APC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Gboyega Adefarati.
In the originating summons Ategbole, raised four questions for determination, which included whether having regard to the provisions of sections 84, 85, 86 and 88 of the Electoral Act 2026, Articles 19.6, 20.1, 20.3 and 20.4 constitution of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the first respondent’s guidelines for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections, the first respondent’s National Assembly Primary Election Committee has the power to make a second result declaration, superseding the declaration and return of the plaintiff, by the APC’s Federal Constituency Returning Officer, as the winner of the House of Representatives Primary Election held on May 16, 2026 in Akoko South-East/Akoko South-West Federal Constituency as declared by Hon Akin Aibinuomo, the returning officer.
Likewise, with reference to the same sections of the Electoral Act and Articles of his party, Ategbole is asking the court whether his party’s NWC has the power to make Adefarati, who came second as the party’s candidate.
His third question is whether, as the winner of the primary, he ought not to have been returned as the party’s candidate.
Lastly, he wants to know whether the declaration of third respondent, Gboyega Adefarati, as the winner of the primary election is “not illegal, unlawful and contrary to the provisions of Section 36 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sections of the Electoral Act and the Articles of the party.
Consequently, Ategbole sought five reliefs from the court. He wants the court to make a declaration that he is the winner of the House of Representatives Primary Election for Akoko South-East/Akoko South-West Federal Constituency.
Also, he is also seeking an order directing his party, APC, to issue a Certificate of Return to him as the winner of the primary election for the federal constituency, just as prayed for an order restraining his party, APC, from forwarding Gboyega Adefarati’s name to INEC.
Alternatively, Ategbole sought an order directing his party, APC, to retrieve the name of Adefarati from INEC and submit his name as the candidate of APC for the 2027 House of Representatives election in the federal constituency.
In proving his case beyond reasonable doubt, Ategbole had approached INEC to obtain certified true copies of the results as declared at the federal constituency collation centre, Saint Patrick Secondary School, Oka-Akoko. In a true certified copy of the INEC report signed by G.D. Dung on the conduct of the primary election stated that INEC staff went out to monitor the primary election and filed reports. INEC further confirmed that the primary election took place in all 26 RA/Wards Collation Centres in the federal constituency on Saturday, 16th May 2026, and that the party’s primaries commenced as scheduled in the federal constituency.
In the same report, INEC stated that “Accreditation of party faithfuls was done by checking party membership registration cards while in queue. A copy of the party’s area register had earlier been submitted to the state office. In the declaration of results, according to the INEC report at the end of the collation exercise at St. Patrick’s College.
It further stated that the exercise came to a close amidst jubilation by party members. In its conclusion, INEC wrote that “The Party Primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was successfully conducted in all the Registration Areas within Akoko South-West Local Government Area without any controversy.”
One of the documents obtained from INEC showed a list of the Local Government Planning Committee to include Hon. Agbede Sunday (chairman), Hon. Ibitayo Olusegun (Secretary) and Barr. Felix Alonge (member). The INEC Registration Area monitor for the local government is Akeredolu Adewale.
In a separate document, which contained the INEC report on the same APC primary election in Akoko South-East Local Government Area, a true certified copy of which was signed by Dimas F. Emmanuel, at INEC headquarters, Abuja, on July 7, 2026, the commission stated that “The primary election was conducted through direct primaries using Option A4 at the Registration Areas level.
Results from the various RAs were collated at the Local Government level before being forwarded for constituency collation. The primary election was well organised and conducted in accordance with the party’s guidelines.”
In the declaration of results, according to the INEC report, “At the end of the collation exercise at St. Patrick’s College, the votes scored by each of the contestants are as follows: Mr. Ajongbolo Segun scored 74 votes, Mr. Adegboyega Adefarati scored 1,965 votes, and Dr. Olugbenga Victor Ategbole scored 12,011 votes as declared by the returning officer for the federal constituency.
