Human Rights
Accept Defeat and Move On, Ekiti APC Candidate Tells Rep Ojuawo
By Joseph Sunday
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ekiti South Federal Constituency, Engr. Toyin Zaccheous Okoro, has urged the incumbent House of Representatives member, AVM Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo (rtd), to accept defeat and move on following his loss at the party’s primary election.
Okoro said he would not be distracted by a media report claiming he was “grilled over alleged contract fraud” by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
In a statement issued in Ise-Ekiti on Friday by the Toyin Zaccheous Okoro Campaign Council, the candidate said he only honoured an invitation by the ICPC to respond to a petition, as a law-abiding citizen.
“An invitation to clarify issues is a routine procedure and does not amount to guilt, indictment or conviction,” the Council stated. “But in his mischievous and desperate manner, Ojuawo, who is apparently behind the petition to the ICPC, sponsored the media report aimed at discrediting the candidate of his own party simply because he lost his bid to return to the House of Representatives in 2027.”
The Council described Okoro as a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record, noting that he has never been arrested, charged or convicted of any offence, and is a respected professional engineer and public servant.
On the allegation that he served as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of a private company while serving as a Senior Legislative Aide at the National Assembly, the Council said Okoro duly resigned from the position upon his appointment.
The statement further alleged that since losing the APC primary conducted in May 2026, Ojuawo has made several attempts to truncate Okoro’s candidacy.
“Before the primary election, Ojuawo petitioned the APC Screening Committee seeking the disqualification of Engr. Toyin Okoro. The Committee dismissed his petition for lack of merit and cleared him to contest,” the Council said.
“In the same vein, he sponsored another frivolous petition challenging the origin of Engr. Okoro as a bona fide son of Ise-Ekiti. This also failed woefully as his root and indigeneship are incontestable and well documented.”
The Council added that Ojuawo has also approached the court to challenge the outcome of the primary, a matter it said is now sub judice.
“Realising that all his moves have collapsed, Ojuawo has now resorted to weaponising a respected state institution by sponsoring a phantom petition to the ICPC to embarrass and distract our candidate,” it alleged.
The Campaign Council urged supporters across Ikere, Ekiti South-West and Ise/Orun Local Government Areas, as well as the people of Ekiti State, to disregard the report.
It also called on the Ekiti State Government, the national leadership of the APC and security agencies, including the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), to ensure the protection of Okoro and his family.
“The people have spoken through the primary election. The party has affirmed. No amount of blackmail will stop our party, the APC, from emerging victorious in the 2027 general elections,” the statement concluded.