APC denies fielding Igbo candidate for Ekiti Reps primary

By Boye Oyeyemi

The Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has dismissed reports alleging that an Igbo candidate emerged as winner of the party’s House of Representatives primary election in the state.

The party described the claim as false and misleading, insisting that all candidates who emerged from the APC primaries across the six federal constituencies in the state are indigenes of Ekiti.

The APC, in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, said no person of Igbo origin contested in the exercise conducted by the party.

“The facts are clear. No person of Igbo origin contested in the APC primaries in any of Ekiti’s six federal constituencies,” the statement read.

The party specifically denied reports that it had announced one Zaccheus Okoro as winner of any House of Representatives primary election in the state.

According to the APC, “Reports that the party announced an Igbo candidate named Zaccheus Okoro for any federal constituency are false. The APC in Ekiti State did not make such announcement.”

The party warned that spreading such claims could create ethnic tension and undermine confidence in its internal democratic process, stressing that politics in Ekiti had always been centred on development and grassroots participation rather than ethnicity.

The APC added that the Arinjale of Ise Ekiti, Oba David Ajani, had also clarified that Oluwatoyin Zacchaeus Okoro, who is said to have emerged from the constituency, is a son of Ise Ekiti and not of Igbo origin. The party also urged its members to focus on issues affecting residents, including infrastructure, security and economic growth rather than ethnic differences.