Former Oyo State Deputy Governor, Taofeek Arapaja, who was an ally of the current state governor, Seyi Makinde, has officially joined the All Progressives Congress, APC.

An APC chieftain, Ayekooto Akindele, made this disclosure on Sunday in a post on his Facebook page.

Arapaja, a former National Secretary of the Seyi Makinde-backed and Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, recently dumped the party.

But speculation of his alliance with APC came after he reportedly met with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja and also met some chieftains of the APC from Oyo State at his residence in Abuja.

DAILY POST reports that Arapaja is a former Council Chairman and PDP Deputy National Chairman, South.

He represented Ibadan North East/ Ibadan south east federal constituency on the platform of the PDP between 2003 and 2007 and later served as Deputy Governor when late Adebayo Alao-Akala was the Governor between 2007 and 2011.

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A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State, Emmanuel Fadola, has disclosed that the primaries of the party that took place in the state were characterised by authoritarian conduct by certain person who plotted to impose candidates on party members.

Fadola, who appealed to members of the party to accept the recent decision of the National Working Committee, NWC in the state’s primary election disputes, emphasised that the intervention became imperative following the manner in which the alleged irregularities took place.

According to the party stalwart, despite the issues raised over the conduct of the primaries, some aspirants were declared winners, a development he described as a desecration of the very ideals of democracy and fairness.

In a statement made available to newsmen, Fadola compared the 2024 governorship primary with that of the recent National Assembly primaries, which he said was conducted in a manner many party members considered deeply unsatisfactory.

He further stressed that the meeting held last week between Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and members of the Governor’s Advisory Council, GAC, ought to have taken place long before the affairs of the party degenerated.

Fadola said, “The lesson is clear: No individual has a monopoly of authority within our great party. In the recent National Assembly primary election, Hon. Festus Akingbaso clearly enjoyed the overwhelming support of the people of Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency.

“This was evident in the videos and photographs showing the large number of party members who queued behind his posters across the wards. His chances were further strengthened by my decision to step down in his favour.

“It is, therefore, difficult to comprehend how someone who had no agents at any of the voting centres could eventually be declared the winner of the nomination exercise.

“It must also be noted that this purported winner had, less than 24 hours before the primary, publicly stepped down for another aspirant who was later disqualified.

“Had there been sincere and extensive consultations with stakeholders, had the path of exclusion not been taken, and had every critical party leader been carried along, the intervention of the National Working Committee might not have been necessary.” 

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, said it has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking a court order compelling the electoral body to investigate allegations that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, diverted N800 billion for political and campaign purposes.

SERAP disclosed this in a statement, alleging that the governors were making monthly contributions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, allocations to a dedicated campaign fund to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

According to the organisation, the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1426/2026, was filed last week before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

SERAP is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus directing INEC to investigate the allegations and compel the commission to request full disclosure from the APC and the affected governors on the alleged campaign fund, including the identities of donors and the lawful sources of the funds.

The group is also seeking an order directing INEC to initiate a formal review and investigation into compliance with Section 91 of the Electoral Act by all political parties and candidates, particularly regarding the sources and scale of political or campaign financing in the current election cycle.

SERAP argued that the allegations raise concerns over political finance transparency, electoral fairness, and Nigerians’ constitutional right to participate freely in democratic governance.

The organisation maintained that opaque political financing fuels corruption and undermines democratic legitimacy, stressing that Nigerians have a right to know who funds political parties and candidates, as well as the sources of such funding.

It further argued that the alleged misuse of public resources for electoral purposes threatens democratic integrity and public trust, adding that transparency and accountability in campaign financing are critical to preventing corruption, state capture, and undue political influence.

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