By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

Hundreds of aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over the alleged refusal of party leaders to issue them membership cards, despite completing their registration.

The protesters also accused some leaders within the party of allegedly plotting to impose candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, claiming that the delay in issuing membership cards was a calculated attempt to disenfranchise loyal members during the party primaries.

The demonstrators, who converged on the APC secretariat at Ijaye in Abeokuta, carried placards bearing inscriptions such as “Give Us Our Membership Cards,” “We Don’t Want Imposition,” and “Let Us Vote for Our Candidates.”

Speaking during the protest, one of the demonstrators, Mr. Adesanya Akinbode, called on the party leadership to immediately release the membership cards to registered members, insisting that loyal party faithful should not be denied participation in the party’s internal democratic process.

“We want our membership cards because we want to vote. We have remained loyal APC members from the beginning. We are loyal supporters and political children of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Dapo Abiodun,” Akinbode said.

“Give us our membership cards so that we can exercise our rights during the party primaries,” he added.

Another protester, Mrs. Idowu Rodiat, condemned alleged moves by some leaders to foist candidates on party members against their wishes, stressing the need for transparency, fairness, and adequate security during the primary elections.

“We don’t want imposition in our local government. We want free and fair primary elections, and we need adequate security during the process,” she stated.

“We want to choose our leaders ourselves — our House of Representatives candidate, Senate candidate, and House of Assembly candidate. We do not want any leader imposing candidates on us,” Rodiat added.

Reacting to the allegations, the Ogun State APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Nuerudeen Adesanya Olufemi, denied claims that members were being denied access to their membership cards.

Olufemi explained that registered members could print their membership cards directly online, noting that designated ward officials had been assigned to assist members with the process.

“What we expect is for registered members to access and print their membership cards directly. Each ward has contact persons responsible for handling registrations and assisting members,” he said.

“Members can meet with their ward contact persons or simply log into the platform and print their cards themselves. So, I do not see how anyone can claim they are being denied access. Nobody is denying anybody,” he added.

The APC spokesman, however, attributed the misunderstanding to inadequate orientation at the ward level.

“What we need is proper orientation for ward chairmen and members on how to access and print their slips. The process is very easy. The state has absolutely nothing to do with denying anyone access,” Olufemi stated.

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