By Ezeocha Nzeh
As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), prepares for its Special convention/presidential primaries, the party’s leadership has been advised to avoid any loopholes that could rubbish the efforts of the party to conduct a valid election of its presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections
The party has fixed its presidential primaries for June 6 to 8, even as it has constituted all the sub committees towards conducting a successful primary in Abuja
The APC is currently engulfed in a delegates crisis in states like Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Ebonyi and others with each faction claiming to be the authentic delegates that would vote at the primariesStakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom state have warned the national leadership of the party to ensure that illegal delegates are not used during the upcoming Special convention and presidential primary of the party
The stakeholder alerted while briefing the media Wednesday in Abuja that the special convention of the ruling the party may be declared valid if it fails to address and resolve the governorship primaries issues in the state
Former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet who spoke on behalf of other party leaders from Akwa Ibom state, said a cabal has imposed an unacceptable candidate on Akwa Ibom APC, adding that the party will reject the imposition ahead of the 2023 general elections
He insisted that the imposed candidate, who did not win any election, at any congress monitored by INEC will vehemently be rejected by the party stakeholders in the state.
The former Petroleum Minister, who was flanked by the immediate past National Caretaker secretary of the party, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe and former House of Representatives member, Mrs Iquo Inyang, rejected the recently conducted governorship primaries in Akwa Ibom, saying that it was inconsistent with the provision of Section 84 (1) of the Electoral Act.
“We hasten to warn, that the Akwa Ibom State challenge of using delegates that were not voted for, in line with the extant Electoral Laws if not addressed, the same delegates maybe used for the Presidential primaries. Surely if that happens then the Presidential primaries run a risk of not producing a validly nominated candidate in line with the Electoral Laws. This should not happen. We fail to see what anyone stands to gain should this fate befall our great Party in Akwa Ibom State.
“We therefore take this opportunity to appeal to the leadership of our great Party to intervene and have the situation redressed by directing the conduct of proper gubernatorial primaries in line with Section 84 (1) of the Electoral Act immediately before it is too late.”
In another development, Cross Rivers State stakeholders of the party have appealed to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to ignore a purported ‘fraudulent’ list of the national delegates sent by the State Working Committee to the national leadership.
The stakeholders in a statement signed by Francis Ekpenyong, on behalf of Cross Rivers Authentic Adhoc National Delegates, and made available to newsmen Wednesday in Abuja, t claimed that they were the original people who paid for nomination forms, participated in the process and emerged the national delegates of their respective Local Government Areas of the state.
“The attention of members and stakeholders of the APC Cross River State chapter has been drawn to the fraudulent, meddlesome interference and day-light theft of the mandate of members of the party in the state who were elected national delegates in the just concluded national delegates election of May 17, 2022.
“As members and stakeholders, we are very concern and write to state that the party should follow its Constitution and guidelines as it relates to the national delegate lists submitted to the party. That the only valid and recognized list of elected national delegates is that of the one conducted on the 17 day of May 2022, which does not include the names of the State Working Committee members of the party.
“That the purported national delegate lists suggesting a parallel exercise and carrying the names of the State working committee members such as Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba under Yala Local Government Area, Barr. Mensah Offiong Bassey under Calabar South Local Government Area, Lion Okara Ekawu under Bekwarra Local Government Area, Engr. (Dr.) Thomas Uko Aruku under Ogoja Local Government Area, Erasmus Ekpang under Boki Local Government Area, Hon. Prince Titi Ndifon under Akamkpa Local Government Area, should therefore be ignored and/or disregarded as being forged as the original national delegate lists was altered and/or falsified.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we hereby state clearly that Governor Ayade, Rt. Hon. Legor Idagbor, Barr. Alphonus Ogar Eba, Sen. Stephen Adi Odey, Engr. (Dr.) Thomas Uko Aruku just but a few did not take part in the national delegate election and they are not delegates from their respective Local Government Areas of Cross River State.
“We make bold to say that the so-called national delegate lists presented to the party by the State Working Committee members of the party was based on a poorly scripted skit comedy shot by the State Chairman of the party and his co-conspirators.”
Also the immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, Barr. Ben Nwoye has cautioned the party not to allow delegates from Enugu State to vote during the Party’s forthcoming presidential primary election, threatening allow Enugu delegates could spell doom for the party
Nwoye, who spoke in Enugu on Thursday, urged the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu to implement his earlier report on the State congress held in Enugu State, stating that no elective congress was held in the State
“The delegates they are using in Enugu are fraudulent delegates, I’m asking the national chairman not to allow any delegate from Enugu to cast a vote during the presidential primary election.
“There was no delegate election in Enugu, so if we use Enugu delegates to produce a presidential candidate, it will stand challenged, and it may affect the party,” he stated.
“The NWC seems to be maintaining wilful blindness even when the tickets are now for shopping under Ugo Agballa.”
