APC Crisis: Aggrieved APC Governorship Aspirants call for cancellation of the primaries that produced Dr Nentawe

Aggrieved Gubernatorial aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have called for the cancellation of the just concluded APC Governorship Primaries which saw the emergence of Dr Nentawe as the flag bearer of the APC.

This was contained in a text of a press conference signed by the Secretary of the Forum of Plateau APC Governorship Aspirants Dr Danyaro D. Sarpiya.

According to the text, “The issues raised bordered on lack of sincerity, hijack of the selection process of candidate by the Governor and his family members, No level playing ground for all aspirants etc.”

“These warnings manifested when party officials, Local Government Chairmen and commissioners were directed to work and return Dr. Nentawe Yilwada or risk losing their positions.”

They stressed that “Governor Simon Bako Lalong and the party had been warned of not playing to avoid the repeat of Zamfara and Rivers State primaries in 2019 which made them to completely got aged out, the same scenario if not worse is being played in all the APC primaries in the state.”

Stressing that “We wrote to the National Chairman on the 25th May, 2022 complaining of no delegates election in any ward in the state and we have delegates forms paid and supplied by the party uptill this time there is no information about the delegates election. We were informed that the expired party congresses delegates will be adopted for the governorship primaries which we objected that it was contrary to the provision of the electoral act and the party guideline. Even the expired adhoc delegates continued to have alterations at the venue of the primaries and the final list was not made known to aspirants to even campaign for votes. Only to have arranged people queuing for election as delegates with tags even those from our local wards were not known to us.”

They noted that “The venue was over taken by government officials to safe their appointments, all the Local Government Chairmen and Government appointees who were not delegated yet they were more in the hall than the delegates.”

Their grounds of appeal are as follows:

1. That we are registered members of the All Progressive Congress
   Party.
2. That our membership in the party is over the mandatory requirement of 12 months
3. That we obtained and submitted the prescribed form to contest in the gubernatorial primaries of our Party after paying the mandated fees into one of the party’s accredited Bank.
4. That we all have obtained far beyond the required minimum educational qualification for the position.
5. That there was no delegate election and the list of delegates was
   constantly being amended with the last change effected on the day of the primaries.
6. That the delegates were sequestered by political appointees as well as Local Government Chairmen.
7. That during the primaries, unauthorized persons were in the venue to intimidate and follow up delegate votes.
8. That the whole process was not in consonance with the APC Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for the 2023 General Elections, The All Progressive Congress Constitution (October 2014 As AMENDED) as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(As Amended).

In closing they called for the following reliefs;

1. A declaration that the Gubernatorial primaries held on the 26/5/22 that returned Dr. Nentawe Yilwada is not in consonance with the APC Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for the 2023 General Elections, The All Progressive Congress Constitution (October 2014
   AS AMENDED) as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
   Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).
2. A declaration that the Gubernatorial primaries held on the 26/5/22 is null and void and liable to be set aside.
3. An Order for review of congresses from the ward level upwards for the proper election of delegates to participate in another primaries to produce a credible candidate.