Some All Progressives Congress governorship and state Houses of Assembly aspirants in Ogun, Rivers, Sokoto, Lagos and Osun states have called for the adoption of direct primary to elect the party’s candidates in the 2023 elections.
The aspirants, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Tuesday, alleged that governors and some ministers hijacked election of delegates, who would vote at Thursday’s governorship and Houses of Assembly primaries.
They, therefore, called on the national leadership of the party to cancel the delegates’ elections and adopt a direct primary on Thursday.
The PUNCH had on Thursday and Monday reported that the election of delegates in Rivers, Sokoto, Benue and Rivers was characterised by crises with factions rejecting the results.
Four governorship aspirants in Ogun State —Owodunni Opayemi, Adekunle Akinlade, Modele Sarafa-Yusuf and Biyi Otegbeye— in a petition to the APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, obtained by one of our correspondents on Tuesday, demanded a direct primary for the shadow election that would hold on Thursday.
The APC in the state is divided into two groups with one loyal to the incumbent Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the other led by his predecessor, Ibikunle Amosun. The party structure is however controlled by the governor.
The four aspirants in the petition they jointly signed alleged that forms were not made available to “non-loyalists of the powers-that-be. This, Sir, is unconstitutional, unfair and undemocratic.”
They stated, “We, therefore, write to state our preference for the direct primary mode in Ogun State for a free and credible primary election.
“The chairman may wish to know that echoes of the disputed 2018 primaries are still being heard in the state and the division in the Ogun State chapter of the APC has yet to be healed.
“The party members across the divide are therefore desirous of having their voices heard in the next elections.
“We also wish to appeal to the chairman to appoint an independent and impartial arbiter to superintend the direct primary election in Ogun State for transparency and fairness.”
In a related development, the National Association of Nigerian Students on Tuesday accused the leadership of the APC of turning a deaf ear to the petitions written against Abiodun.
NANS in a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Victor Ezenagu, knocked the APC for failing to take action.
Several attempts to get reaction from the leadership of the APC in the state failed as the chairman, Yemi Sanusi, did not reply to a text message sent to his mobile line. Several calls to his line were not answered.
But Abiodun, on Tuesday, breezed into the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja.
Abiodun was warmly received by the APC National Chairman who subsequently ushered him in for a closed-door meeting.
Efforts made to speak with the governor after the one-hour meeting proved abortive as he ignored the journalists and entered his car and left the premises.
Abe’s faction demands direct primary
The APC faction loyal to Abe called for the cancellation of the delegates’ elections and demanded a direct primary.
A chieftain of the party and former Chief of staff, Rivers State Government House, Chief Tony Okocha, in an interview with The PUNCH on the telephone on Tuesday, said the group had petitioned the national leadership of the APC.
He stated, “We have done that in black and white, besides the peaceful demonstration that took place in Port Harcourt. The other thing I would want anybody else to do is to find out from INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) if actually, that congress held.
“INEC’s role in that congress is not even to observe but to monitor. In other words, INEC was an integral part of that exercise. Find out from INEC if it actually monitored any exercise in any of the local government areas.”
Asked if his faction would demand the cancellation of the process and demand for direct primary for governorship should be held, Okocha answered in the affirmative.
He stated, “That is our position because there was no congress. That congress was supposed to throw up delegates that would have voted for aspirants to become candidates.
“To that extent, there is a lacuna. So, what is best as it were is to carry everybody along in a direct primary election to select the governorship candidate for the party.”
The state spokesman for the party, Chris Finebone, said he knew nothing about what the Abe camp was talking about, insisting that the entire processes were very transparent.
“The entire processes were very transparent and open and the congress took place,” he said.
Also, a Sokoto State governorship aspirant, Balarabe Salame, told The PUNCH that he and five other contestants had petitioned the national leadership of the party.
He said out of the seven APC governorship aspirants in the state, six of them were not in support of the delegates that emerged from the congress. He, therefore, called on the party to go for a direct primary.
“I don’t understand how it is going to be but the point is we are not satisfied with the delegates that emerged. The party is working for someone and we all know whom they are working for.
“If the party does not do the right thing, anything can happen. I only pray that the situation of Rivers or Zamfara does not repeat itself in the state here.”
Primary committee: Lagos APC kicks as group alleges Sanwo-Olu’s brother’s inclusion
In Lagos State, the National President of the APC Professionals for Change, Hakeem Ogunsanya, expressed its dissatisfaction with the inclusion of a man it alleged is Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s elder brother in the APC primary committee.
In a statement issued by the group, signed by its Publicity Secretary, Bayo Aderibigbe, and made available to one of our correspondents on Tuesday, the group alleged that many individuals in the committee had strong ties with some of the contestants, thus allowing them to play the role of umpires could jeopardise the interest of other aspirants in the race.
The Chairman of APC in Lagos State, Cornelius Ojelabi, had on Monday inaugurated the committee, which is to be headed by the APC Zonal Organising Secretary, Lateef Ibirogba.
But the group flayed the state chapter of the party for setting up the committee, saying it was a usurpation of the functions of the national body, which is constitutionally empowered to perform such duties.
The other committee members include Olayinka Oladunjoye, Bola Badmus-Olujobi, Hakeem Odumosu, Gbolahan Idris, Adebayo Sanwo-Olu, Sodiq Ademola, Oluremi Shopeyin, and Muritala Seriki.
“The committee’s composition shows the desperation of some aspirants to subvert the process in their interest. We have some elements in that committee who have close ties with some aspirants. It beats my imagination that our great party in the state could appoint the governor’s elder brother to the committee that will conduct an election in which he is a contestant; this is like taking impunity to another level. What signal are we giving to other aspirants in the race? This is an aberration that shouldn’t be allowed to stand.
However, the group charged the party’s national leadership to dissolve the Ibirogba-led committee and reconstitute another that would reflect neutrality in fairness to all aspirants.
Reacting to the statement, the Lagos APC Chairman, Ojelabi, who spoke briefly with our correspondent, said the sequence of events outlined in the party needed to be understood.
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