APC Primaries: Aspirants angry with party appeals panel result

The aggrieved aspirants of the All Progressives congress (APC) in the just concluded party primaries who took their different grievances to the party’s constituted Appeal Committee are not happy with the party over its presented report.

The Daily Times learnt that several of the petitions submitted to the Appeals Panel were either not entertained or dismissed for lacking in substance and this has not gone down well with many of those whose petitions were not entertained.

One of the aspirants Mr. Adaze Wilson Imafidon, who was seeking the party’s ticket to contest the Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde House of Representatives Federal Constituency seat, submitted a petition to the appeals committee through his lawyers, describing the purported primary election held in the constituency was a sham.

According to his legal representatives, Imafidon and Imafidon of Eghosa Chambers, their client resorted to writing the petition to the committee because of the injustice that was done to him and his supporters who are members of the party.

The aspirant alleged that none of the accredited members of the APC committee sent to the area was present during the purported election in the Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde Federal Constituency except in Urhonigbe South where only the INEC went to observe.

He said: “Consequently, it is now beyond contention that the proposed primary election into the Federal House of Representatives in Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde Federal Constituency, which was slated for Saturday 6th October 2018, and indeed all other APC primary elections throughout Edo State did not hold to the dismay of our client and his mammoth supporters”.

The two petitions against the governorship primaries in Rivers by Senator Magnus Abe and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs were not upheld, while the only petition from Delta written by Prof. Pat Utomi was dismissed and tagged ‘overtaken by event’.

A summary of the report indicate that all petitions against the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were rejected by the panel, the same position with Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross Rivers state.

From Borno State, there were four petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary, with the committee recommending that a consensus option be explored and to be driven by the National Chairman in consultation with the President.

It was also gathered that majority of the petitions against the conduct of the Senate and the House of Representatives primaries were not upheld for various reasons ranging from lack of merit, lack of proof to lack of time for fresh primaries while no reason were adduced for not upholding some others.

Similarly, some petitions were upheld and some of the petitioners declared as candidates of the party either because they actually won the primaries and were substituted or for other reasons ranging from lack of clearance and others that were not adduced by the committee.

The issue of Athanasisus Okon who runs the Buhari Friends Organization Network and excluded from the primary for Itu/Udom/Oboh-Akara federal constituency was upheld and declared candidate of the party by the committee for reason that he has a strong pedigree and has been a strong supporter of the President and the party.

In Delta State, eight petitions were upheld for winning the primaries and having their names substituted, while seven were rejected, while the three petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary in Akwa Ibom state was rejected alongside eight House of Representatives seat, with five were upheld.

From Kaduna, six petitions were treated for the Senatorial primaries with five of them rejected while one (Shehu Sani) was upheld while nine of the ten petitions received for the House of Representatives were rejected.

Two petitions each were received against the governorship primaries in Sokoto and Jigawa rejected, while three House of Representatives and three Senatorial petitions were rejected from the two states.

Petitions from Kebbi and Katsina states were also rejected while the two against the conduct of the governorship primary were referred to the National Working Committee for decision, while the petitions from Kano were either upheld or referred to the party national secretariat for action.

From Taraba state, it was gathered that ten petitions were recovered against the conduct of the governorship primary, four against the Senate primary and nine against the House of Representatives primaries, with all petitions rejected, a similar situation with Adamawa and Bauchi states, with only one Senatorial and one House of Representatives seat in Bauchi upheld.

The situation is not different from the south west zone with six petitions treated from Ekiti against the conduct of the National Assembly primaries rejecting three House of Representatives petition from Osun were also rejected.

From Ondo State, the panel upheld three petitions for the senate; refers one to the NWC of the party, rejects two and upheld the five petitions for House of Representatives, pointing that they won the primary and were substituted.

The two petitions received from Lagos State shows that one was rejected for the senate, while the one for the House of Representatives was upheld.

The panel also rejected two Senatorial petitions from Ogun and recommended that the third petitioner be adopted as the candidate saying stakeholder of the party in the areas agreed to adopt him as a sole candidate.

However, aspirants whose petitions were not treated are protesting against the report of the Appeals Panel saying grave injustice has been done to them both in the conduct of the primaries and the outcome of the Appeals Panel.