No INEC representatives show up for APC primary election in Surulere Constituency 11

The Surulere Constituency 11 primary election, held on Saturday, was notable for the absence of officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a fact disclosed by Quodir Onikeku, a former Coker-Aguda Local Government Chairman and House of Representatives aspirant, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Onikeku expressed his disappointment with the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election, which was conducted across six centres within Surulere Constituency 11, an area comprising six wards, namely Coker, Aguda, Orile, Itire, Ijesha, and Ikate.

The lack of accreditation and the absence of officials to oversee voting were major issues, according to Onikeku, who stated that "what happened in the six wards under Surulere Constituency 11 shows a lacuna in our party" and highlighted the fact that "there was no accreditation.

The supposed officials tasked with conducting accreditation and voting were nowhere to be found, Onikeku noted, adding that "the officials supposed to conduct accreditation and voting were absent, and nothing of such took place here today."

Onikeku, who claimed to understand the intricacies of the party's mechanisms, asserted that the goal of the exercise was to demonstrate integrity and a commitment to progress, saying "what we are doing today is to show that some of us still have integrity, and we believe that in no time, this country will move forward."

He attributed the apparent lack of support for Lanre Okunola to his alleged neglect of the constituency and the absence of development projects during his two terms in the House of Representatives, noting that Okunola only visited the constituency on Thursday, May 14, for campaign and mobilisation purposes.

Onikeku voiced concerns about the implications of this situation for the 2027 general elections and urged APC leaders to address these issues before the forthcoming national polls.

The Surulere Constituency 11 House of Representatives APC primary was a contest between Lanre Okunola and Aremu Olalekan Abdul-lateef, according to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Despite an estimated 500 people turning out for the election, no accreditation process took place, with an APC official and party elder instead randomly counting delegates at the selected premises within the wards.

The election venues were surrounded by armed security personnel, who maintained a presence throughout the proceedings.