Enone APC primary was a charade, results were allocated — Okoriko Abah

A House of Representatives aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Enone Federal Constituency, Aba Okoriko Abah, has described the party’s recent primary election as a charade, alleging that no election took place and that results were merely allocated to a preferred candidate.

Okoriko made the allegation while speaking on the controversy surrounding the APC primary conducted for the Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections in an interview with Idoma TV’s The Conversation.

According to him, aspirants and party members had expected a free, fair and credible primary in line with the Electoral Act and the APC guidelines, but were disappointed by what eventually transpired.

“I prepared for a free, fair and credible primary. We mobilised our supporters and expected the party guidelines and the Electoral Act to be followed. Unfortunately, none of those things happened,” he said.

The APC aspirant alleged that no electoral materials were deployed to any of the 35 wards across the three local government areas that make up the constituency.

“There was no primary. It was an announcement of results that were allocated to an aspirant. No materials came to any of the 35 wards in Enone,” he stated.

Okoriko explained that he and his supporters waited for electoral officials from morning until midday but nothing happened.

“We waited from 8 a.m. till about 12 noon. Nothing came. When I started calling party leaders at the state level, they refused to pick my calls. I visited other local governments to verify what was happening, but there was nothing anywhere,” he said.

The aspirant further alleged that the eventual declaration of a winner did not reflect the wishes of party members, insisting that the process amounted to the imposition of a candidate.

“If the primary had been free, fair and credible, there would be no reason to question the outcome. But there was none. What happened was simply the imposition of a candidate and allocation of results,” he said.

He also claimed that protests recorded across the constituency after the exercise were not organised by supporters of any particular aspirant but by aggrieved APC members who felt disenfranchised.

“The protest was not about one candidate. Party members were angry because they were denied the opportunity to exercise their franchise. The protests took place across the three local governments,” he said.

Okoriko disclosed that he had petitioned the APC Appeal Committee and subsequently approached the court to challenge the outcome of the exercise.

According to him, the party’s internal mechanisms have yet to provide any response to his petition despite what he described as overwhelming evidence that the primary did not take place.

He warned that failure by the party leadership to address the grievances arising from the exercise could negatively affect the APC’s fortunes in Enone ahead of the 2027 general election.

“At the moment, party members, leaders, stakeholders and supporters are angry. If the matter is not properly managed through genuine reconciliation, it could affect the outcome of the election in 2027,” he said.

The APC aspirant, however, ruled out leaving the party, insisting that he remains committed to seeking justice through lawful and democratic means.

“We are not talking about jumping to another party. We want fairness, transparency and justice. The court remains the last hope of the common man,” he added.