Transparency and Intelligence Watch, an advocacy group has called on President Bola Tinubu to shun advice from some leaders and Chieftains of the All Progressive Congress to illegally return all the 54 National Assembly members that weren’t returned during the Direct Primaries of the ruling party which held last month.
Transparency and Intelligence Watch made this statement today, Monday, June 1, 2026 at a Press Conference addressed at Polak Hotels in Ondo by the President and Secretary of the advocacy group, Barrister Joel Adelakin and Princess Margaret Ikechukwu.
Recall that 54 serving members of the National Assembly including those that defected to the ruling party did not scale through the recent direct primaries held across the country.
Speaking at the Press Conference, Barrister Joel Adelakin stated that those advising the president are his enemies who don’t want him to win his reelection bid in 2027, stressing that all elections are local, and the local people have decided through the recent direct primaries on those they want to represent them at the National Assembly next year.
According to him, any plot to manipulate the will of the people that voted for their choices at the primaries by imposing serving members of the National Assembly who failed at the exercise will give the oppositions a upper hand to defeat the President in 2027.
The group noted that all the state governors especially those from President Bola Tinubu’s South West are very angry that the president’s handlers are trying to stop the will of the local people that voted at the direct primaries.
“Even the vice president is not happy that his own candidates are about to be dropped for servicing federal lawmakers that didn’t make it during the direct primaries. His people in Lagos State are unhappy that those that genuinely won at the direct primaries are about to be removed because of serving National Assembly members.
“These people are the same people that will vote at the general elections so there is no way they will vote for those they didn’t vote for during last month primaries. The protest votes will also affect the president at the general elections and he may lose to the opposition if he allows his handlers to use him to prevail over the choices of the local politicians” the group said.
The group however cited the cases of Lagos State, Ondo State, Benue State, Ekiti State, Delta State, Borno state and other states as cases where the president will have problems if he tries to replace those that won at the primaries with serving National Assembly members who were voted out by local politicians at the primaries.
The text of the Press Conference reads in parts: “In Lagus state, the people have decided not to vote for any other State House of Assembly candidate other than Desmond Eliot who was deliberately removed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. Governor Sanwoolu too is angry that some people were imposed on him to be candidates of the APC in Lagos State instead of those that genuinely won at the State House of Assembly direct primaries.
“In Delta State, Senators Omo Agege and Ned Nwoko are bitter that they were rigged out at the direct primaries just because of the people who President Bola Tinubu’s handlers have penciled down to fly the flag of the All Progressive Congress in the state.
“In Benue state, only four Reps members who have continued to visit Benue State and identifying with the people of the State by preaching the gospel of President Bola Tinubu and his administration despite the security challenges in the state were genuinely returned while others who have failed to come home under the excuse that President Tinubu hasn’t been giving them personal security and funds for Constituency projects were voted out at the direct primaries.
“Imagine, Rt. Hon. Regina Akume who is close eighty years has been visiting Gboko/Tarka every fortnight to identify with her subjects. The same thing applies to Rt. Hon. Solomon Wombo who despite the heavy insecurity in Sankera would still visit all the local governments under his territory every two weeks just to identify with them. The same thing for Blessing Onuh and Ojotu Ojema of Ohinmi/Otukpo and Apa/Agatu federal Constituencies.
They have always been connected with their people, and their performances made the voters to return them at the last direct primaries.
“Still on Benue, the likes of Senator Titus Zam and Emmanuel Udende weren’t not returned by voters who voted them out at the direct primaries as a result of their disconnection with their constituents and poor representation. How does anyone think that they won’t affect Tinubu with their fate if at last they are forced on the party as candidates?
“In case of House of Representatives in Benue, apart from Philip Agbese who ran to Labour Party immediately he was aware that he wouldn’t be returned as a result of his massive failure, Sekav Iortyom, Sesoo Gboko and Terser Ugbor, Dickson Tarkigir weren’t rejected by voters at the direct primaries because they have failed their constituents.
“Their people have always complained that they don’t come home. They prefer to stay in Abuja and claim that it’s all President Bola Tinubu’s fault by not giving them personal security and funds for Constituency projects. If these fellows are imposed on the party, our survey shows that President Tinubu will lose the election in Benue.
The group also spoke about the case of Ogun Stage where Governor Dapo Abiodun used his power to remove Senator Gbenga Daniel. “The people have vowed not to vote for President Bola Tinubu if he allows himself to be used to impose Dapo Abiodun on Senator Gbenga Daniel whom they said is their preferred candidate for the seat.
“In Ondo State, this group is calling on President Bola Tinubu to allow the will of the local people to prevail by allowing the result which declared Dr. Taiwo Fashoranti and others as winners of the Direct Primaries stand. He shouldn’t allow his handlers to push him to impose the servicing National Assembly members who were rejected during the direct primaries on the party as candidates” the group noted
Ends
