APC Primaries: Party Members Will Determine How Candidates Emerge, Hon Ojuawo

A member of the House of Representatives, AVM Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo (retd.), has said that only the people can determine who emerges as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the impending party primaries ahead of the 2027 general election.

Ojuawo, who represents Ekiti South Federal Constituency I in the National Assembly, said he is confident that his legislative achievements, constituency interventions and growing grassroots support would secure him the party ticket in Friday’s shadow election.

Addressing newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Wednesday, the federal lawmaker, who said he was ready for a direct primary, posited that political imposition has no place in the process of electing party candidates.

He said, “Endorsement comes from the people, not from a few individuals. Politics is local, and the people are the ones who truly decide. I have gone round the wards and communities, and the support has been overwhelming.”

Ojuawo maintained that returning him for another four-year term would place the constituency in a stronger position to attract more federal presence, committee leadership opportunities and developmental projects.

“As a first-timer, there are limits to what you can achieve because you are still learning the system. But with experience and ranking, you gain more leverage to attract development to your constituency. If given another term, I will be able to do even more for my people,” he stated.

Ojuawo, who represents Ikere, Ise/Orun and Ekiti South-West Local Government Areas under the platform of the APC, said his almost three years in the National Assembly had been marked by impactful motions, people-oriented bills, empowerment programmes and strategic interventions across the constituency.

The retired military officer said he decided to publicly render an account of his stewardship in order to keep his constituents informed and strengthen transparency in representation.

“Information is key in everything we do. In representation, people need to know exactly what you are doing for them. I felt it was necessary to use the media platform to tell my people what we have done, what we are doing and what we still intend to do. I am seeking re-election based on performance and the support of the people.”

Ojuawo said one of the first motions he sponsored at the House of Representatives focused on introducing leadership training into Nigeria’s educational curriculum from primary to tertiary institutions.

While arguing that the absence of structured leadership development remained one of the nation’s major setbacks, he listed several other motions he had sponsored, including advocacy for a living wage to reduce the migration of Nigerian youths abroad, proposals to strengthen value addition to Nigeria’s raw materials before export, and calls for the scrapping of static security roadblocks in favour of mobile patrol systems to curb corruption and improve security effectiveness.

On education and agriculture, Ojuawo disclosed that he sponsored a bill seeking the establishment of a College of Agriculture and Forestry Research in his constituency to support farmers through research and innovation.

Though the bill scaled legislative stages, he explained that presidential assent was delayed due to the Federal Government’s temporary restriction on the establishment of new tertiary institutions, which he said would be reconsidered in the future.

The lawmaker further revealed that he initiated another bill seeking federal takeover of the Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti (BOUESTI), formerly the College of Education, to ease financial pressure on the state government and pave the way for expansion into medical and allied health programmes.

Highlighting his constituency projects, Ojuawo said he had facilitated several solar-powered boreholes across Ikere, Ise/Orun and Ekiti South-West, installed solar streetlights, supplied transformers to communities, graded farm roads annually to aid farmers, and distributed motorcycles and other empowerment materials to residents.

He said his interventions in agriculture had led to the establishment of two major community farms in the area, where farmers currently cultivate crops with the support of irrigation pumps and solar-powered boreholes provided through his initiatives.

“In Ogbese and Ikoto farms alone, we have dozens of farmers benefitting. We have irrigation systems, solar-powered facilities and hectares of watermelon cultivation. The idea is to empower our people economically and encourage them to remain productive,” he said.

The APC chieftain also highlighted his contributions to security in the constituency, noting that he works closely with local security agencies through a joint patrol arrangement which, according to him, has helped sustain peace and safety in the area.

He stated that his experience as a retired military officer had enabled him to support security coordination and community intelligence gathering, adding that the constituency remained one of the safest parts of Ekiti State.

On healthcare, Ojuawo disclosed that he facilitated the establishment of a 20-bed hospital through the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, and attracted medical equipment worth over $550,000 through collaboration with Nigerians in the diaspora.

He added that the facility now runs on a solar-powered mini-grid providing uninterrupted electricity.

The lawmaker also cited his intervention in facilitating investigations into security-related incidents affecting constituents, including armed robbery attacks and the killing of a student in Osun State, saying he remained committed to protecting the interests of his people beyond infrastructure projects.