Alleged Presidential “Approval” from Lagos? How Kogi West APC Primary turns Hollywood Script

What was supposed to be a straightforward senatorial primary election in Kogi West has now turned into a full political comedy series, complete with alleged forged signatures, mysterious result sheets, invisible voters, and “presidential approval” that reportedly existed only in the imagination of desperate political magicians.

Fresh revelations surrounding the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kogi West Senatorial primary suggest that some party actors may have mistaken democracy for a photocopy business center.

At the center of the unfolding drama are allegations that the result of the May 18 primary election, originally won convincingly by Sunday Karimi, was allegedly altered in favour of Sam Aro, a politician who had earlier withdrawn from the race before the election even took place.

Concerned leaders are now asking what kind of political miracle allows a candidate who reportedly left the contest to suddenly reappear as “winner” after voting had ended.

According to findings, the alleged manipulation involved the reproduction of result documents and the alleged forgery of the signature of the returning officer, Haruna Isah.

Sources fingered Yetunde Adeniji and former APC state chairman, Abdullahi Bello, as key figures in the controversial exercise.

Yetunde Adeniji, said to be a longtime political ally of former Kogi governor Yahaya Bello, reportedly served as secretary of the senatorial primary panel and allegedly participated in efforts to produce alternative return sheets.

The plot allegedly became more interesting when some actors reportedly informed panel members that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved a change of results after Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo visited him in Lagos.

Unfortunately for the scriptwriters, reports later indicated that no such approval came from the President.

Even more dramatic, sources claimed that nearly all signatures on the controversial documents were allegedly forged, except that of the panel secretary herself. Apparently, when democracy is under attack, signatures also begin to campaign on their own.

Meanwhile, the original result announced by Returning Officer Haruna Isah showed Senator Karimi winning comfortably with 51,665 votes, while Sam Aro reportedly secured only 620 votes.

Other results announced included: Smart Adeyemi – 571 votes; Abubakar Zakari Ola – 414 votes; and Elizabeth Adedoyin – 18 votes.

Political pundits say the incident has once again raised serious questions about internal democracy within the APC, where primary elections now appear to require not just ballot papers, but also forensic handwriting experts.