The All Progressives Congress (APC) has found itself in further crisis as party bigwigs flex musles over who picks the governorship ticket of the party in various states.
Delegates and some members of National and State Houses of Assembly, yesterday, protested the postponement of Adamawa governorship primary election by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party’s NWC also shifted governorship primaries in Lagos, Zamfara and Enugu states.
A statement issued by the acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Yekini Nabena, announced the rescheduling of governorship primaries for Adamawa, Enugu and Lagos states.
The governorship primaries for Adamawa and Enugu have been shifted to tomorrow, while those of Lagos and Zamfara hold, today.
In Zamfara, the Chairman of the APC Primary Committee, Dr. Abubakar Dari, said the gubernatorial primary election had been shifted to today after it was postponed from Sunday to yesterday.
It was observed that APC members thronged the primary election centres in Zamfara as early as 7:00am for the election.
Our correspondent reports that delegates who were gathered for the exercise, expressed disappointment over the shift.
Addressing journalists after a stakeholders meeting held at the State Police Command, the committee chairman said the postponement of the election to today was a decision reached by the stakeholders, including all the gubernatorial aspirants of the party.
In Adamawa, the state Governor, Mohammed Bindow, while addressing protesting delegates at Ribadu Square, urged them to take it easy and accept whatever happened as an act of God.
He said, “I want to apologise to you over the development and to thank you for your patience and cooperation as we await further directive from the party.
“I remain loyal to the party and urge every party member in Adamawa to be calm and loyal party member”.
Also speaking, Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Information, Abdulrazak Namdas, urged the delegates and lawmakers to remain calm, adding that whatever the situation, be it direct or indirect primaries, it is the people of Adamawa that will vote for the candidates of their choice.
“We are not afraid of facing direct or indirect primaries,” Namdas said.
The APC primaries initially scheduled for Sunday ran into a hitch when two of the three aspirants, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Dr Mahmood Halilu contesting with Bindow announced their withdrawal over the method of primaries and choice of venue.
In rescheduling the governorship primaries in Lagos, Enugu and Adamawa states, the APC NWC also changed the mode of primaries for Enugu and Adamawa from indirect to direct primaries.
It was learnt that the primaries for Lagos and Imo were earlier slated for Monday.
The National Working Committee of the All Progressive Congress sent from Abuja to monitor the party’s governorship primary in Lagos State has nullified the exercise held across the 20 local government areas of the state, yesterday.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Clement Ebri, who addressed the press around 4.30pm at Protea Hotel, Alausa, said the election could not have held because the committee was still expecting the list of representatives of one of the two aspirants.
The primary is being contested by Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.
Ebri, however, did not mention the camp that defaulted on the modalities for the election.
He explained that the governorship primary election in Lagos State may be rescheduled.
The committee had earlier dissociated itself from the ongoing primary.
Ebri explained the confusion that trailed the exercise.
“We want a victory that will be credible, and will be in line with the guidelines and rules. We are now ready to do the ground running.
“In the next few minutes, I will contact the national office to inform them that we are now ready for the primary.”
Displaying the result sheet to be used for the primary, Ebri added: “We were waiting for the Lagos APC chairman to provide some information, but it came barely an hour ago.
“We have the electoral materials here but considering the Lagos situation, traffic and all, we will wait on the national office for action.”
When asked what would happen to votes cast all day, he said: “I contacted the national office and I was asked to realign with the position on ground”, before admitting that “we may have to reschedule the exercise”.
The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, yesterday, abandoned Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to support Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the two-horse race to pick the ticket to represent the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election.
Adebule told newsmen at Ward A and D, in Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos where she participated in the governorship primary of the APC, that she would endorse the candidate chosen by the party.
“The party has chosen a man and it is that man that I will support and follow,” she said.
Sources said that when the deputy governor arrived at the ward, some of her aides came with Sanwo-Olu’s posters and banners.
At the ward, accreditation started at about 10.36 a.m. as party electoral officials arrived.
There was no formal announcement of the results as the accreditation was brief.
Many party members at the venue started singing the praises of Sanwo-Olu.
However, hours after he withdrew from the race, former EFCC chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu yesterday made a U-turn and indicated interest to participate in the rescheduled Adamawa APC governorship primary election.
The Director-General, Ribadu campaign organisation, Alhaji Salihu Bawuro, made the announcement at a news conference in Yola. Ribadu withdrew from the primary election on Sunday evening as the exercise was about to start but the exercise was cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday.
Bawuro said the Ribadu campaign organisation was satisfied with the decision taken by the party’s national headquarters on the cancelation and rescheduling of the governorship primaries in the state.
“Now that the national headquarters had intervened to correct the abnormalities surrounding the Sunday’s unsuccessful primaries, Malam Nuhu Ribadu will be in full contest now that it is the direct primaries,’’ Bawuro said.
He said that the organisation was well prepared to participate in the election, adding that it would do everything possible to ensure free and fair primaries.
Meanwhile, the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State yesterday witnessed chains of scuffles that led to violence between members of the camp loyal to Rochas Okorocha known as Ugwumba Movement and those of the opposition called Coalition Alliance.
As at press time, two persons were feared killed from the fracas that ensued.
Our correspondent who monitored the exercise observed that there was late arrival of electoral materials at the party secretariat in Okigwe Road.
The party secretariat was besieged by anxious party members, even as party bigwigs stayed back in Abuja and were nowhere to be seen in the state.
At the Uzii layout primary school within Owerri Municipal Council, party members arrived as early as 8:30am for accreditation, which however did not commence till 11am.
In virtually all the wards in the Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta local government areas, irate party members rabidly opposed to the planned imposition of Uche Nwosu as the party’s governorship candidate by Governor Okorocha impounded all vehicles on sight bearing the Ugwumba Movement inscription and diverted them to unknown destination.
In the Mbaitoli local government area where the deputy governor, Prince Eze Madumere, hails from, some vehicles belonging to the movement were reportedly set ablaze.
But as at press time, yesterday, sources said that Senator Hope Uzodinma had emerged winner of the APC governorship primary in Imo State, amid confusion.
In another development, Lagos APC has declares Sawoolu winner of Lagos guber primary. The chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos State Chapter, Alhaji Tunde Balogun has declared Babajide Sanwo-Olu the winner of the Gubernatorial primary election, held Tuesday, across the 245 wards of the 20 Local Government Areas of the state. By this declaration, Sanwoolu has emerged as APC flag-bearer for the 2019 governorship elections in Lagos State.
Balogun, who described the exercise as free, fair and credible, maintained that it would be unfair to disenfranchised the 1.7 million registered members of APC following conflicting reports that has trailed the conduct of the exercise.
The panel of the National Working Committee from Abuja deployed to oversee the conduct of the election earlier denied any knowledge of any conduct of election in the state yesterday.
However, Balogun, announcing the results said, the incumbent Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State polled a total votes of 72,901, while Sanwoolu polled total votes of 970, 851 to emerge winner of the contest.
He said: “We thank the members for participating in the election to peacefully select APC standard bearer for next year’s election.
“They did this with enthusiasm and dedication To be clear, an APC primary election was held in Lagos and this was in accordance with the party constitution.
“In pursuant to the constitution, it was stated that the primary would be conducted in direct open system where each voters would queue behind their preferred candidate.”
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday described the results being circulated as the outcome of the Imo governorship primaries as fake. Oshiohmole stated this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
The APC chairman also revealed that the party had disbanded the Ahmed Gulak-led Committee that conducted the party’s governorship primaries in Imo.
According to him, another committee will be set up immediately for the conduct of fresh primaries in the state before the end of the week.
“Imo was not too good news for today, but not surprising they have to learn to begin to comply with rules, they have two fake results, none of them is genuine.
“We will disband and we will appoint a fresh committee (electoral panel) that will conduct transparent direct primaries that reflect the will of members of APC in Imo regardless of the interest and powers that are behind any of the groups.
“The truth does not require supporters club to stand, it has its hands and legs and we will do just that”. Oshiohmole, who said he was in the villa to update President Buhari on the developments in the APC, ruled out the possibility of honouring parallel results from states.
On the conduct of the APC primaries in Lagos State on Tuesday, the APC chairman disclosed that the National Working Committee (NWC) was in charge of the primaries and that every situation had been put under control.
“ I told the president that the primaries held as planned and everything is being done to ensure there is no violence because democracy doesn’t flourish with violence.
“Nigerians must begin to learn how to differ in opinion and in choice without fighting; this is something people have to acquire over time. “For me, I’m excited that if we can do it in Lagos it can be done anywhere.
“Everything that is being done is done under the control, supervision and direction of the NWC.’’ Oshiohmole maintained that no matter how highly a member may be, he or she must subject himself/herself to the constitution of the party.
It would be recalled that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) panel had yesterday announced the cancellation of the Lagos governorship primary election, saying the preparatory process for the election had just been concluded.
The Chairman of the panel, Chief Clement Ebri, made this known when he spoke at a news conference in Alausa, Ikeja. He said : “The preparatory process had just been concluded for the primaries.
The primary is to begin anytime soon. “There was no election. Election materials are being sorted. “The stage is set and election begins anytime from now. We have guidelines and we will stick to the guidelines.
“Because of the political tension in the state, we decided to be very careful, very methodical. As party men, peace is more important to us than victory. “We want a kind of victory that will be celebrated by both parties.
“We want an election that will be credible and in line with the guidelines, the extant rules and the laws of the country.
“And that is what we have done. We are ready to go to the field and execute this so that at the end of the day, we will not be accused of partisanship. Lagos is very important to us and it is a flagship of the APC.’’