A protest broke out at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday as members of the party from Ekiti State expressed anger over the disqualification of businessman and politician Kayode Ojo from the forthcoming governorship primary.
Naija News reports that the demonstration came weeks after the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko, confirmed Ojo’s exclusion while briefing journalists in Abuja.
Meseko, on Thursday, October 9, 2025, disclosed that the APC screening committee cleared only the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji, and Omolayo Oluremi to contest the party’s ticket for the July 20, 2026, Ekiti governorship election.
Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters, mostly women, stormed the secretariat with placards condemning Ojo’s disqualification and rejecting what they described as a plan to impose a consensus candidate.
Some of the inscriptions read, “We Say No to Kayode Ojo’s Disqualification,” “We Don’t Want Consensus,” “Ekiti Women Reject BAO,” and “APC Must Let Ekiti People Choose Their Candidate.”
They also chanted, “Ekiti says No to Governor Biodun Oyebanji,” and “Yes to Kayode Ojo.”
Ojo, a businessman and long-time player in Ekiti politics, has often clashed with the APC establishment. He previously contested the 2018 governorship election under the party but lost in the primaries.
Meanwhile, APC has adopted Governor Oyebanji as its consensus candidate for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
APC disclosed this as it announced its decision to switch the state primary election from a direct primary to a consensus mode.
In a statement issued on 14th October 2025, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the change followed the voluntary withdrawal of one of the two cleared aspirants, Mrs Atinuke Omolayo, who pulled out of the race and endorsed Oyebanji as the consensus choice.
