Residents of the Edu, Moro, and Patigi federal constituency in Kwara State have appealed to the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to uphold and respect the decision of party members in the recent House of Representatives primary election held last Saturday.
Appeal for Fairness
The APC members based their plea on the fact that Dr. Ajani Abiola Joshua, a candidate from the Moro local government area, which is a Yoruba-speaking community, has been pursuing a seat in the Green Chamber since 1999. They noted that other communities within the constituency have taken turns to occupy the position, while Moro has yet to produce a representative.
Historical Representation
According to the residents, the federal constituency has been represented by individuals from different local government areas over the years: Late Engr. Yahaya Yunusa from Edu LGA (1999–2007), Late Hon. Aliyu Ahman Patigi from Patigi LGA (2007–2019), Hon. Ahmed Ndakene Abubakar from Edu LGA (2019–2023), and Hon. Adamu Ahmed Saba from Edu LGA (2023 to date). The APC members argued that this pattern demonstrates an injustice in the political arrangement.
They called on President Bola Tinubu, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the APC National Chairman, the National Secretary, the State Chairman, and the returning officers for the constituency to ensure that democracy prevails.
“We appeal to the above to let the results collated remain unchanged because the people of Moro, Edu, and Patigi have spoken their mind with the last Saturday primary election,” they stated.
Primary Election Results
In the primary election, Dr. Ajani Abiola Joshua emerged victorious with 20,418 votes, followed by Abubakar Taoheed Bello with 14,397 votes, and Muhammad Baba Ibrahim with 11,189 votes. Other candidates received: Mashood Alaka (2,494), Ahmed Adamu Shaba (2,548), Hussain Afolabi (1,084), Abubakar Ahmed Ndakene (1,446), Ndamusa Guyegi (66), Maman Tsuako (157), and Salamatu Funmilayo Amasa (64).
Detailed Breakdown by Local Government
A detailed copy of the results shared with journalists in Ilorin showed that in Moro LGA, Ajani Abiola scored 18,897 votes, Barrister Afolabi got 976, and Mashood Alaka received 2,274. Bello Taoheed Abubakar, Muhammad Guyegi, and Mamman Tsuko scored zero.
In Edu LGA, Ahmed Adamu Saba got 834 votes, Abubakar Ahmed Ndakene 603, Baba Ibrahim 1,551, Abubakar Bello 13,024, Maman Tsuako 157, Mashood Alaka 220, and Abiola Ajani 227.
In Patigi LGA, Muhammad Baba received 9,586 votes, Ahmed Adam Saba 1,503, Ahmed Ndakene 684, Ajani Abiola 1,294, Hussain Afolabi 7, and Abubakar Bello 1,373.
The people of Moro emphasized, “It is time for the Yoruba-speaking community to rule since the return of democracy in 1999.”
