Lagos Assembly Primary: APC members reject candidate list in Somolu constituency 2

… claim Apata came first with 9,081 votes

Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Somolu Constituency II of Lagos State, on Tuesday, protested the alleged imposition of a candidate, insisting they voted for the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Samuel Apata, during the APC primaries held on May 20, 2026.

The aggrieved party members who staged protests at the Bariga APC secretariat and the state APC secretariat in Ikeja, carrying placards with inscriptions such as, “Hon. Apata won the primary election,” and “No to imposition in Bariga”, expressed shock that the aspirant who allegedly came third was eventually listed among the successful candidates released by the party.

Addressing journalists before submitting their protest letters, a former councillor in the area, Olasupo Abiodun Kazeem, claimed that Apata won the primary election with 9,081 votes, while the second and third aspirants polled 814 and 677 votes respectively. 

Kazeem said party members voted overwhelmingly for Apata because of his performance at the Lagos State House of Assembly, urging the party leadership to review the primary election outcome against the certified results and delegate lists submitted by the Electoral Committee and INEC observers.

“This is a peaceful protest. We are not happy with what we have seen, but we believe somebody somewhere may have mistakenly included the name of a loser on the final list. It is impossible for an aspirant who came a distant third to be published as the winner of the primary election,” Kazeem said.

Also speaking, a female party member from Ward B in Bariga, Olabisi Kekereowo, said she monitored the voting process during the primaries and confirmed that Apata won in her ward.

She urged the party leadership to intervene and correct any discrepancy in the final list, maintaining that the incumbent lawmaker enjoys widespread support among party members and residents. 

Meanwhile, a pressure group, Concerned APC Loyalists, Lagos State, called on the party leadership to adhere strictly to the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines, urging it to ensure that the mandates of those who won the primaries are respected.

In a letter signed by Babatunde Oseni and Olugbenga Afolabi on behalf of the APC Loyalists, the group urged the leadership to “put the right candidates in the right constituencies — those who have the mandate, the capacity, and the grassroots support to win for the APC,” advising aggrieved members to explore the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms.