By Daniel Tyokua
A former two-term member of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wadada, has faulted the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in Nasarawa West Senatorial District over alleged irregularities that charactised the exercise.
Wadada said the ills development had forced him to withdraw from the party’s primary election that is yet to be conducted.
He disclosed this while briefing journalists in Keffi Local Government Area of the state, yesterday.
Prior to his withdrawal, Wadada was a frontrunner for the APC ticket for Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone.
The primary election is yet to held due to controversy over alleged alterations to the original delegates list meant to be used to elect party candidates for various elective posts in 2023.
Despite his withdrawal, the party could still not hold the primary election for the two remaining aspirants, Labaran Magaji and Shehu Tukur on May 28, 2022. But the angry youths violently disrupted the electoral process over alleged alterations to the delegates list leading to suspension of the election.
Wadada said it was necessary to intimate the public, especially his teeming supporters on reasons for his decision to withdraw, adding that his withdrawal was influenced by his belief in due process, fairness and strict adherence to rules on how party primaries should be conducted.
The former House of Representatives member said these tenets are in line with the electoral act and guidelines of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“INEC accepted the original list because INEC monitored the exercise that brought about the emergence of the original list.
“We were to hold primaries based on the basis of that original list. The state chapter of the party, in preparatory to the commencement of the primaries called the chairmen of various local government areas of the state and handed over that monitored, authenticated, legal and legitimate list.
”We woke up the next morning, that was the day the primaries for the governorship and state assembly were to commence that another list was sent from the headquarters of the party.
“That list sent by the headquarters was neither monitored by INEC nor were stakeholders or caucus of the state APC consulted.
“That list came up because some people somewhere were scared and intimidated to the level of taking laws into their hands, thereby creating illegality,” he said.
With Wadada’s withdrawal, Magaji and Tukur are the two other aspirants left to contest for the APC Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone ticket at the general election in 2023.
