_A Counter-Argument to the Oke-Ero LGA Endorsement and the Demand for the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency Seat_
Introduction
A recent endorsement from Oke-Ero Local Government Area has added another voice to the growing chorus of zoning demands within the APC structure in Kwara South. The endorsement, framed around power rotation, demands that the House of Representatives ticket for the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency be zoned to Oke-Ero LGA ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While the political enthusiasm behind such a gathering is acknowledged, and while the people of Oke-Ero are fully entitled to aspire to any elective office, the specific demand that the ticket be predetermined and reserved for Oke-Ero before any primary is conducted raises fundamental questions of constitutional propriety, democratic fairness, and genuine service to the people.
This article respectfully but firmly counters that demand and makes the case that competency, party loyalty, and free primaries are the only credible standards for selecting candidates across all levels in Kwara South.
*1. Understanding the Constituency: Four LGAs, One Seat*
The Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency is a shared political space comprising four distinct local government areas: Ekiti, Isin, Irepodun, and Oke-Ero. These four LGAs together send one representative to the House of Representatives in Abuja.
This structural reality is fundamental. Any candidate who emerges must represent not just Oke-Ero but the combined interests of all four local governments. The moment a seat is declared zoned to one LGA, the other three are effectively disenfranchised. Their aspirants are shut out before the process begins, their communities deprioritised, and their APC members made to feel like second-class participants within the same party.
This is not fairness. This is exclusion dressed in the language of equity.
*2. The APC Constitution Does Not Provide for Zoning of Legislative Seats to Local Government Areas*
This point must be stated plainly: The constitution of the All Progressives Congress does not provide for the zoning of House of Representatives tickets to specific local government areas within a federal constituency.
The APC constitution guarantees every qualified party member the right to contest for any position through the party’s primary process. It provides for competitive, open participation, not geographic reservations. It does not empower any local government’s stakeholders, rally crowd, or council chairperson to pre-select who flies the party’s flag.
When a group declares that a ticket belongs to their local government, they are not exercising a constitutional right. They are attempting to override the party’s democratic framework. They are asking the APC to conduct a primary whose outcome has already been decided, which is not a primary at all but an imposition.
If the APC in Kwara State accepts such a demand, it sets a dangerous precedent: that whichever group holds the loudest rally gets to lock other aspirants out of competition. This is the antithesis of internal democracy and will ultimately weaken the party.
*3. Power Rotation at the Governorship Level Does Not Automatically Extend to Legislative Seats*
The Oke-Ero endorsement appears to ride on the broader power rotation argument, the debate about whether the Kwara governorship should shift to Kwara North or remain with Kwara Central or South. Some making the Oke-Ero demand are using the same “it’s our turn” logic to justify their claim on the federal constituency seat.
But these are two entirely different conversations.
The governorship debate concerns a state-wide position historically discussed in terms of senatorial districts. Even that debate remains unresolved, with the APC state chairman himself publicly stating that the party has not yet decided whether to zone the governorship ticket.
The House of Representatives seat is a constituency-level position. It has never been formally zoned among local governments within the constituency on a rotational basis by the party. To now introduce a zoning framework at this level, not through any party resolution but through a rally endorsement, is to manufacture a political norm out of thin air. This cannot and should not stand.
*4. Loyal and Capable Aspirants Across All Four LGAs Deserve a Fair Chance*
Across Ekiti, Isin, Irepodun, and Oke-Ero, there are men and women of proven ability, deep party loyalty, and genuine vision for the development of their communities. These individuals have in many cases served the APC quietly and consistently, without waiting for a political season to announce their loyalty.
Some have invested personally in their communities through education support, youth empowerment, and grassroots development. Others bring professional expertise, legislative understanding, and networks that could genuinely benefit the constituency at the federal level. Still others have demonstrated commitment to the APC through difficult times, standing firm when other politicians wavered or defected.
Every one of these individuals deserves an equal, unencumbered opportunity to present themselves to party members. The zoning demand from Oke-Ero seeks to deny that opportunity to aspirants from three other local governments, not based on capacity or loyalty, but purely on geography. That is neither just nor progressive.
*5. Listen to the Manifestos: Give Every Aspirant the Freedom to Sow*
The Kwara South Senatorial District is home to individuals of exceptional talent, legislative vision, and deep community roots. Before any decision is made about who should represent the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, or any other constituency within Kwara South, stakeholders owe themselves and their communities one duty: to listen.
Every aspirant who presents themselves must be given the platform to lay out their manifesto.
– What are their plans for the constituency?
– What bills will they sponsor?
– How will they attract federal infrastructure, investment, and intervention funds?
– What is their track record of service?
– What distinguishes their vision from others in the race?
These are the questions that should fill town halls, stakeholder meetings, and community assemblies across Kwara South, not which local government has not had a turn.
A farmer who plants in good soil reaps a harvest. Similarly, an aspirant who is given the freedom to present their ideas sows their vision among the people, giving the electorate the raw material to make an informed choice. When aspirants are shut out through zoning before they can even speak, the people are denied that harvest.
Kwara South stakeholders, from ward chairmen to local government executives, from traditional rulers to youth leaders, from women’s groups to professional associations, must all insist on an open process. Invite the aspirants. Host the debates. Demand the manifestos. Score the candidates on substance, not on local government of origin.
Give every aspirant the freedom to sow. Let the best harvest emerge. That is the standard Kwara South deserves.
*6. The “Igbomina Lokan” Controversy: A Warning Sign for Kwara South*
Recent political developments in Kwara South provide a sobering lesson about where LGA-based exclusion leads.
APC stakeholders in Ifelodun LGA have raised strong objections to what they describe as a deliberate agenda to shut out aspirants from their area in a neighbouring federal constituency’s House of Representatives race. Their complaint: that certain interests have dominated that constituency for decades to the exclusion of other communities, and are now attempting to extend that dominance.
The lesson for the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero constituency is direct. If communities that have experienced exclusion understand how damaging and unjust it is, then they of all people should refuse to inflict the same exclusion on others. A demand that the ticket be zoned to Oke-Ero does to Ekiti, Isin, and Irepodun precisely what others have done to communities that felt marginalised.
Principles must be consistent. Fairness cannot be selectively applied, invoked when your community is the one being shut out, and discarded when your community is the one doing the shutting out. Kwara South cannot afford to allow each local government to entrench its own exclusionary demand. That path leads to endless fragmentation, deepening inter-community resentment, and a fractured APC that eventually loses winnable seats.
*7. Competency and Party Loyalty Must Come First, At Every Level*
The standard for selecting candidates across all levels in Kwara South, the state house of assembly, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the governorship, must be rooted in competency and party loyalty, not local government rotation.
*Competency asks:*
– Does this person have the skills, networks, and legislative intelligence to deliver real dividends to the people?
– Can they sponsor meaningful bills and speak with authority on the floor of the House on matters that affect the constituency?
– Can they attract federal interventions and development projects that the people actually feel?
*Party Loyalty asks:*
– Has this person demonstrated sustained commitment to the APC beyond election season?
– Have they contributed to the growth of the party and mobilised members during difficult times?
– Is their allegiance to the party genuine and not merely transactional?
These are the only questions that should drive candidate selection. Not which local government has not had a turn. Not who organised the biggest rally. Not who made the most noise about zoning.
Kwara South has suffered from representation built on arrangement rather than ability. The people have paid the price in poor legislation, weak constituency presence, and missed federal opportunities. They deserve better, and the only way to guarantee better is to insist on merit and loyalty as the non-negotiable standards.
*8. Zoning Is Clouding Everything, and the People Are Losing*
One of the most damaging consequences of the current zoning agitation is that it is drowning out the actual conversation the people need to be having. Instead of debating what kind of representation they want, what federal projects should be attracted, what bills should be sponsored, and what their legislators should be doing in Abuja, the conversation has been reduced entirely to which local government gets the ticket.
This is a disservice to the electorate. The people of Ekiti, Isin, Irepodun, and Oke-Ero deserve representatives who are chosen for what they will do, not for where they were born.
Zoning, at its worst, rewards passivity. It tells communities you do not need to produce the best candidate, you just need to wait for your turn. This culture produces legislators who feel they owe their seats to geography rather than to the people, and who govern accordingly.
The people of Kwara South must resist this culture collectively. They must demand that the conversation shift from “whose turn is it” to “who is best qualified and most loyal to serve us.”
*9. A Strong Call to the APC: Conduct Free, Fair, and Imposition-Free Direct Primaries*
The APC leadership in Kwara State and at the national level must resist pressure, from Oke-Ero, from any other LGA, from any political godfather or government official, to predetermine the outcome of primaries for Kwara South positions.
The party must conduct free, fair, and transparent direct primaries for all positions in Kwara South, including the Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero federal constituency seat, the Offa/Oyun/Ifelodun federal constituency seat, all state assembly seats, and the Senate. The APC state chairman has publicly assured aspirants of a level playing field. He must be held to that commitment.
Free and transparent direct primaries serve every legitimate interest:
– Aspirants from all four local governments get an equal opportunity to present their manifestos and test their popularity with party members.
– Party members exercise genuine power in choosing their preferred representative, not merely rubber-stamping a pre-selected name.
– The APC produces stronger nominees who enter the general election with real internal legitimacy.
– The people of Kwara South receive the quality of representation they have long been owed.
Any arrangement that bypasses this process, whether through imposed zoning, backroom consensus, or pressure from powerful individuals, is a betrayal of party democracy and of the constituents themselves.
*10. To Oke-Ero: Produce the Best Candidate, Do Not Lock the Gate*
This article is not an argument against Oke-Ero or its people. It is an argument against the method being deployed.
The people of Oke-Ero have every right to aspire to the House of Representatives seat. If they believe they have individuals of exceptional capacity, loyalty, and vision, then those individuals should step forward, present their manifestos, campaign boldly across all four local governments, and let the party membership decide.
That is the democratic path. That is the path that produces legitimate mandates, genuine constituencies, and representatives with the moral authority to truly speak for the people.
What Oke-Ero must not do is attempt to shut the door before the competition begins. A candidate who needs a zoning guarantee to win the primary cannot, by definition, be the strongest candidate. And a constituency that accepts an imposed representative, regardless of which LGA that imposition comes from, has already compromised the quality of its own governance before a single day in office begins.
*Conclusion*
The Oke-Ero endorsement, however enthusiastic, rests on a demand, the zoning of the House of Representatives ticket, that has no constitutional basis in the APC’s laws, undermines the principle of open and competitive primaries, disenfranchises aspirants from three other local governments, and entrenches a culture of arrangement over merit.
The Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency belongs equally to all four local governments. Its representative must be chosen by all APC members across those four LGAs through a process that is open, free, fair, and free from imposition.
Kwara South stakeholders must open their ears, open their hearts, and open their platforms to every aspirant who comes with a manifesto and a mission. Give every candidate the freedom to sow their vision among the people. For the state house of assembly, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the governorship, the standard must be the same everywhere across Kwara South: competency first, party loyalty first, and the people’s choice through genuine primaries.
No zoning of legislative seats. No imposition of candidates. No endorsement rally as a substitute for democracy.
Let merit lead. Let loyalty count. Let every aspirant sow. Let the people choose.
_This article is written in the interest of democratic best practices, equitable representation, and a stronger, united APC in the Kwara South Senatorial District._
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