Thousands of supporters and members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance on Friday staged a protest at the Anambra State Government House in Awka over the outcome of the party’s primary election for the Oyi State Constituency seat.
The protesters, who came from Oyi Local Government Area, accused party officials of changing the result of the primary election and replacing the candidate they claimed won the contest.
The protest followed the conduct of APGA primaries held last Saturday ahead of the 2027 elections in Anambra State. According to the demonstrators, the lawmaker representing Oyi State Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Innocent Ojike, popularly known as Ojicam, won the election but was later replaced with another aspirant, Kosisochukwu Ibemesi, when the party released its final list of candidates.
The protesters gathered in large numbers and marched through major parts of Awka before arriving at the Government House, also called the Light House. They carried placards with different inscriptions calling on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to step into the matter and ensure that the result announced during the primary election was respected.
Some of the demonstrators said they were shocked when the name of another candidate appeared on the party’s official list despite claims that Ojike had emerged victorious during the exercise. They insisted that the process in Oyi Constituency was peaceful and transparent and argued that the candidate announced by the party did not win the contest.
The State Auditor of APGA, Uchenna Oraegbunam, who joined the protest, said party members from the constituency were unhappy with the outcome released by the leadership of the party. He maintained that the supporters believed the wrong candidate was declared winner and called on party officials to correct the situation.
Since the conclusion of the APGA primaries, complaints and protests have continued to emerge from different constituencies across the state. While some aspirants and their supporters accused the party of manipulating the process, others praised the conduct of the primaries and described them as free and fair.
During the protest, supporters sang solidarity songs and repeated calls for the restoration of the candidate they believed won the election. The crowd moved from the State House of Assembly complex through the Alex Ekwueme Square before ending the protest at the Government House.
Officials from the state government later addressed the protesters. The Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Soludo, Okechi Vincent Egbuna, received the group and assured them that their complaints would be looked into. He advised the protesters to formally submit their grievances to the governor, the party leadership and the appeal committee handling disputes from the primaries.
He also assured them that the state government and party authorities would examine the matter and respond accordingly. The protesters later dispersed peacefully after delivering their demands.