The leadership crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State escalated further as chairmen of the state's 18 local government areas formally rejected the National Working Committee's (NWC) revised list of National Assembly candidates, appealing directly to President Bola Tinubu to intervene. Speaking under the umbrella of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Ondo State chapter, chairman Gbenga Fasua insisted that the names ultimately announced by the party's national leadership did not reflect the outcomes of primary elections held across the state. The revised list, transmitted to INEC on June 29 in a letter signed by APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, emerged from the party's review of appeals filed after the primaries โ€” part of a broader nationwide reshuffle affecting candidates across nine states, including Abia, Benue, Kaduna, Kogi and Taraba. In Ondo, the changes replaced several previously announced winners: Donald Ojogo replaced Akingboye Leke in Ilaje/Ese-Odo, Festus Olarewaju replaced Rasaq Obe in Idanre, and Michael Olamidotun Akintomide replaced Abiola Makinde in Ondo West/Ondo East, among other substitutions. The APC has said the changes followed the determination of more than 700 petitions filed after the primaries and maintained that the NWC holds final constitutional authority over candidate selection. The dispute has split opinion within the state's APC ranks. Aggrieved women and youth members staged street protests in Akure, blocking the Ilesha/Owo Expressway for hours, with organizers accusing the party leadership of a "democratic coup" that ignored the outcomes of primaries conducted across the state's 203 wards. Ondo State Commissioner for Women Affairs Seun Osamaye, who helped lead the protest, called for the NWC to disclose the basis of the appeals that led to the list's revision. In response, however, the APC Elders Forum in the state urged aggrieved members to accept the NWC's decision with dignity, with forum chairman Demola Ijabiyi describing the original primaries as neither free nor fair. A separate APC support group, the Democratic Integrity Network, dismissed the protests as a "premeditated charade" and criticized allies of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for allegedly fueling the crisis rather than working toward resolution. The confrontation reflects a deeper rift between Governor Aiyedatiwa and the party's national leadership, which reportedly traces back to disagreements over the mode of primaries used to select candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.