Kogi: Yahaya Audu calls for cancelation of APC primary, give reasons

An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for Kogi State governorship election, Prince Yahaya Audu, has urged the national leadership of the ruling party to cancel the recently conducted party primary and reorder a fresh poll.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, the governorship aspirant alleged that the state governor, Yahaya Bello, manipulated the election, insisting that he is rejecting it because it was characterized by massive irregularities.

While describing the party primary as a charade and kangaroo, he insisted that Governor Bello and his agents hijacked the process, announcing that he is waiting for the outcome of the petition he sent to the APC National Working Committee (NWC).

“The purppse of this press conference is to state my position on on the purported Kogi state APC governorship primary election held at the township stadium, Lokoja on Thursday August 29, 2019 which Yahaya Bello was announced the winner.

“I feel it is necessary to clear the air and put the record straight. It is indeed not only disheartening but disappointing the way and manner the entire process was compromised.

“I want to place on record that the entire process of the primary was not only a charade but also characterized with irregularities and fall short of acceptable norms.The purported primary can only be better descibed as kangaroo and a daylight robbery as the entire process was hijacked by Yahaya Bello and his agents,” he said.

Speaking further, he said: “Consequently, I wish to use this forum to disassociate myself from the said primary and reject the result anmounced by the returning officers on the following grounds.

“That the entire process of the primary election was fraught with irregularities and fall short of acceptable norms.

“That only the delegates who were given Ankara uniforms by the Governor Yahaya Bello were allowed to access the venue of the primaries and vote thereby denying several authentic delegates from exercising their franchise.

“That there was no proper accreditation before the commencement of the voting. The election was conducted without the agents of most of the aspirants including myself.

“The ballot boxes meant for the election were arranged Local governments by Local governments while Governor Yahaya Bello’s appointed administrators stood by the ballot boxes to ensure that the bollot papers that had only Yahaya Bello’s name written on it was dropped on the boxes by every delegate.

“Finally, that the security agencies prevented some of the aggrieved including myself from accessing the returning officers they wanted to lay complaints about the glaring irregularities perpetrated at the venue of the election,” he listed the irregularities.

On the decision he has taken, he said: “Due to the above irregularities and several others, I hereby reject, in totality, the outcome of the primaries and wish to call on the APC NWC to cancel the result and conduct a fresh free and fair primary.

(Credit: Blueprint)