A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Chief Adebisi Ilaka, has rejected the outcome of the party’s primary election held on May 22, 2026, alleging widespread irregularities and manipulation of results in several local government areas.
Ilaka, who came second in the contest, made the allegations on Sunday during a press conference in Ibadan, where he described the exercise as a “travesty” and a “complete assault on internal democracy” within the party.
The former Chief Of Staff alleged that while result sheets for 20 out of the 33 local government areas in the state were properly distributed, 13 others were diverted and handed over to “persons unknown,” a development he said led to the emergence of “manufactured figures.”
He explained that the 20 result sheets were received by the party chairman-elect, Mr Afees Adelowo, who subsequently distributed them to local government areas in Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Ibarapa Central.
However, Ilaka alleged that the remaining result sheets never reached Ibadan, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North local government areas, where he said genuine party members conducted the exercise at ward and local government levels.
“For the governorship primaries of our party in Oyo State held on May 22, result sheets for 20 local governments were released to the party chairman-elect, Mr Afees Adelowo, who distributed them accordingly,” he said.
“The remaining result sheets were given to persons unknown. These sheets never got to all the local governments in Ibadan, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North.
“The results entered into those sheets are disputed because they never got to the local governments where the authentic results were domiciled. They were simply manufactured for the purpose of electoral fraud,” he alleged.
Ilaka insisted that party agents, ward executives and local government officials in the affected areas were ready to testify that the announced results did not reflect what was collated at the grassroots.
“In each of the local governments where the results are disputed, party officers, agents and local government chairman-elects are ready to testify and produce the real results collated at ward and local government levels,” he added.
The aspirant also claimed that he won 28 out of 29 local government areas where authentic results were available, maintaining that he was leading by about 14,000 votes before the disputed figures were introduced
“I know for a fact that out of the 29 local governments that we can ascertain their results as authentic and true, I won 28 of them,” Ilaka said.
“The outstanding local governments where we have no verified records have a combined registered membership of less than 4,000, while I already have an unassailable lead of about 14,000 votes.”
He further disclosed that he had begun the process of challenging the outcome before the party’s appeal committee, insisting that the disputed 13 result sheets must be reviewed.
“We are sending a petition to the appeals tribunal. We are not crying foul because we lost. If we lost fair and square, fine, but not in this manner,” he said.
“It simply means whoever orchestrated this knows he cannot win a fair election within the party.”
Ilaka warned that the development, if not properly addressed, could deepen internal cracks within the party ahead of the 2027 general elections in Oyo State.
“If the party is serious about winning elections, it must ensure that internal democracy is protected. You cannot disenfranchise those who built the party and expect unity,” he said.
When asked about his next move should the appeal fail, Ilaka said he would carefully evaluate the situation, adding that “all conduct, whether good or bad, has consequences.”
