‎‎Ezechukwu Obinna, an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant in the 2027 primaries, has protested the outcome of the process, alleging imposition of a candidate.

‎Obinna, who was an aspirant for Ahiazu-Mbaise Constituency seat in the Imo State House of Assembly, accused the APC leadership in the state of sidelining aspirants who purchased nomination forms and campaigned extensively ahead of the expected primary election.

‎The aggrieved aspirant, who spoke in a widely circulated video, claimed he spent over N100 million on his ambition and support for the party, insisting that he could not be “discarded” without a transparent contest.

‎“I cannot spend over a hundred million naira just to be discarded in this manner because I’m in APC. This is ridiculous. This is unacceptable by me!” he said.

‎According to him, six aspirants from Ahiazu-Mbaise purchased nomination and expression of interest forms at a cost exceeding N10 million each after assurances from the party that an open primary would be conducted.

‎“We were six aspirants that purchased form from Ahiazu-Mbaise and we spent over 10 million naira each in processing the forms. The party gave us hope that there would be an open primary,” he stated.

‎Obinna, however, alleged that while aspirants were preparing for the exercise, another candidate was announced without consultation or voting.

‎“While we were preparing ourselves for the exercise, we heard that a woman who failed house of representatives primary had been selected as the candidate for Ahiazu-Mbaise state assembly seat,” he alleged.

‎“What a rape of democracy!” he added.

‎The aspirant rejected claims that the emergence of the candidate followed a consensus arrangement among contenders.

‎“There was nothing like consensus agreement. No meeting with the governor, nor state party chairman. All we heard was that the winner has emerged,” he said.

‎Obinna maintained that he would have accepted the outcome if any of the six aspirants who purchased forms had emerged through what he described as a transparent and credible process.

‎“My anger is that if the party had chosen one person from among the six of us that purchased forms, but they went as far as selecting a woman who was contesting for federal house of representatives and had failed in the just concluded primary,” he said.

‎He called on the leadership of the party and the Imo State governor to allow aspirants test their popularity through a fair contest.

‎“I’m calling on the party and the governor of Imo state who is the head of the party to do the right thing and provide an opportunity for all the aspirants to test their popularity at the field,” he stated.

‎The controversy comes amid growing complaints by some APC aspirants over the conduct of the party’s primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.

‎Some aspirants across different constituencies have alleged irregularities ranging from imposition of candidates, lack of transparency in delegate selection, absence of voting in some areas, and alleged disregard for internal democratic procedures.

‎As of the time of filing this report, the APC leadership in Imo had yet to officially respond to the allegations raised by Obinna and other aggrieved aspirants (Daily Trust)