Leaders under the aegis of the Kogi West APC Leaders Forum have kicked against any attempt to substitute Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro as the party’s candidate for the Kogi West senatorial seat, insisting that due process must be respected.
Addressing journalists in a World Press conference on Saturday, former Kogi State House of Assembly Speaker, Right Hon. Alfa Imam who spoke on behalf of the Leaders said Aro emerged winner of the APC senatorial primary for the zone after all prescribed electoral processes were duly followed, an outcome he said was later affirmed by the party’s Appeal Committee.
Imam noted that reports from relevant security and electoral institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police, and the Department of State Services (DSS), were made available in the course of the process, and that Aro’s details had since been transmitted to INEC following his nomination.
While citing provisions of the Electoral Act on candidate substitution, Lokoja APC Leader stated that a candidate whose name has already been forwarded to INEC can only be replaced if he formally notifies the commission in writing of his withdrawal, stating his reasons, or in the event of his death, which must be proven.
“In all of these, Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro has not written INEC that he’s withdrawing his candidacy from the Kogi West Senatorial contest, neither is he dead,” the group said.
The forum consequently urged INEC to decline acceptance of any substitution request from the APC concerning Aro, in line with the commission’s recent public position on similar requests affecting some senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.
It also appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu to direct Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, and the APC leadership against substituting Aro’s name, stressing that all actions must align with the party’s constitution and extant electoral laws.
While commending Tinubu for his relationship with Governor Ododo and for approving the rehabilitation of the Obajana-Kabba-Egbe-Omuaran-Ilorin and Kabba-Iyara-Ifaki roads, the group maintained its loyalty to the President and the governor, and pledged support for their re-election bids in 2027.
The forum listed its demands as respect for lawful procedures, protection of the will of party members, and preservation of public confidence in the electoral process, describing the matter as one that goes beyond an individual to the credibility of party primaries generally.
They urged supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding while pursuing the matter through constitutional means, expressing confidence that “truth will prevail.”
Members of the Group including a Chieftain of the Party, Hon. Alfred Bello, Zonal APC Chairman, Hon. Emmanuel Ayo and State Youth Leader of the Party, Buhari Lokoja said any attempt to substitute Hon. Aro’s name will be resisted.
