Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Ward 12, Ibadan South-West Local Government, today staged a protest calling on the leadership of the Party in the State to restore the mandate of Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku.
The protesters, who gathered at UMC Eleja School, Odo-Ona, carried placards including “No More Mama Sope” and chanted anti‑imposition songs, insisting that Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku won the Ibadan North‑West/Ibadan South‑West primary election for the House of Representatives.
Speaking about the peaceful demonstration, Honourable Adepoju Olayiwola Popoola told journalists that the party’s leadership must reinstate Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku’s mandate.
“Let me explain what really happened and why party members from Ward 12, Ibadan South‑West are protesting. To ensure that a candidate emerged from Ward 12, four of us — Honourable Popoola, Honourable Aliu, Honourable Siba and Honourable Faderera — met with APC leaders who set up a ten‑man committee. We met with the committee and agreed to sacrifice our ambitions so that one candidate could emerge from Ward 12 as a consensus candidate. We agreed not to obtain nomination forms for the State House of Assembly election, and we settled on the candidature of Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku. They later said we must hold a primary election. On Saturday, a primary was held; among the six aspirants who participated, Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku was announced the winner. The following day, we began hearing that his name had been substituted with Folake Olunloyo’s name.”
Honourable Popoola added that Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku has been a consistent and loyal party chieftain from Ward 12, Ibadan South‑West, and has contributed substantially to the party’s success over the years.
“We are calling on the party leadership to do the needful and restore Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku’s name as the winner of the primary conducted on Saturday. We condemn the continued marginalisation of Ward 12, which has 137 polling units in the local government, by the APC state leadership.”
Also calling for the restoration of Otunba Rotimi Ajanaku’s mandate was Baale Odo‑Ona representative Fatai Tajo and other party leaders.