We don’t rig elections in APC, says Kwara rep

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, has explained what he told his constituents about election rigging ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not rig elections but wins through grassroots mobilisation.

Olawuyi, who represents Ekiti Oke Ero Irepodun Osi Federal Constituency of Kwara State, spoke at the weekend in Omu Aran during the official launch of the APC membership e-registration exercise at Omu Aran Ward One.

According to him, the ruling party has never considered rigging as an option for electoral victory.

“We do not rig elections in APC. We have never thought about rigging. My people can testify. I have never told them about rigging and I do not even know how it is done. What I know is that before every election I prepare by asking myself how many votes I will get in every polling unit. It is about mobilisation. By the time your opponents wake up to think about rigging, they have already lost,” he said.

Speaking on the e registration exercise, the lawmaker said the programme was meant to revalidate party members and ensure that the party’s real voting strength reflects its membership base.

He said the exercise became necessary following the 2023 presidential election where the votes recorded by the party did not tally with its claimed membership figure of about 42 million.

“As a practical and scientific politician, the president wants to know the real strength of the party. We want to know the total number of members in each ward, polling unit and up to the national level. That is the original value of our strength,” he said.

Olawuyi explained that the new registration system would eliminate double registration because every member would be tied to a National Identification Number.

“There will be no double registration. The system will automatically detect any discrepancy,” he added.

He urged party members in the constituency to mobilise massively ahead of the 2027 general election in order to strengthen the party’s base and guarantee victory.

Also speaking, Speaker of the Irepodun Local Government Legislative Council, Omu Aran, Rt Hon Aliyu Murtala Omoboye, called on party members to come out en masse for the e registration exercise, saying it would position the APC strongly for victory in 2027.

He said the party has a bright chance in the coming general election if mobilisation is sustained across wards and polling units.

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