One of the aspirants in the All Progressives Congress House of Representatives primary election for Owo/Ose Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Ghani Arobo, has rejected the outcome of the exercise, alleging widespread irregularities and result manipulation.

The primary election was held in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area, on Saturday, with Kayode Ijalana declared the winner by the APC House of Representatives Primary Election Committee after polling 7,098 votes against Arobo’s 75 votes.

In a statement issued by the Director General of the Ghani Rotimi Arobo Campaign Organisation, Ayo Ilevare, the group described the exercise as a violation of democratic principles.

According to the campaign organisation, the election was allegedly marred by the manipulation and falsification of results before the final announcement.

“The so-called results that have been paraded represent nothing but a sham deliberately cooked up to subvert the sovereign will of the people. We reject it in its entirety, as it is not democracy but an assault on the democratic process,” the statement read in part.

The group further alleged that despite efforts by the party’s national secretariat to strengthen internal democracy, the process in the constituency failed to reflect the will of party members.

“The attempt to impose an outcome which contradicts the reality of the will of the people we got, we firmly reject. This negates the overwhelming mandate freely given on the ground,” the statement added.

The campaign organisation insisted that it had agents stationed across polling and voting centres and claimed Arobo secured what it described as a landslide victory.

“We recorded a landslide, an unquestionable victory. The people of Owo-Ose spoke with one voice for renewed hope, genuine representation, and the liberation of our constituency from the current state of helplessness,” the statement said.

It further maintained that residents desired “improved representation, sent by them, and not imposed on them.”

“No amount of manipulation, result-falsification, or backroom deals will be allowed to truncate or annul that sacred mandate,” the group declared.

The campaign organisation also warned that the alleged manipulation of the results was unlawful, unethical, and capable of undermining the democratic will of the people.