Kogi APC Guber Primary , a disgrace to democracy, Aggrieved Contestants insist

By James Ankpa

Four out of the seven aspirants who participated in the purported guber primary election conducted across the various wards in Kogi State on Friday by the All Progressives Congress ( APC) , have described the exercise a sham and rape of democracy .

The four aggrieved contestants at a joint press conference in Abuja in Senator Smart Adeyemi ‘s Maitama residence said results announced from the purported election were compiled ward by ward and local government by government by agents of Kogi State government , long before the day of election which they alleged did not even hold anywhere.

With Senator Smart Adeyemi at the briefing , were co – contestants like son of late Prince Abubakar Audu , Shaibu Abubakar Audu , the former Minister of State for Labour , Professor Stephen Ocheni and Yakubu Murtala Ajaka .

Adeyemi at the briefing alleged thus : ” What happened in Kogi State on Friday called APC Guber primary, was a new phenomenon of electoral malpractices and embedded corruption in the electoral process of our country.

” If there was election and it was rigged, we know it was rigged but where there was no election at all and for someone to have the audacity to write result and went ahead to announce it, is very dangerous for our democracy .

‘The national secretariat of APC and the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi must be prepared to explain and to tell Nigerians if there was primary election in Kogi.

“The primary election was not conducted. All of us mobilised our members, behold, non of the officials of INEC nor even the panel that was to conduct the election was seen anywhere for the exercise.

” The chairman of that panel, the governor of Zamfara who was the one that by the constitution of the APC was to announce the result, tactically withdrew from doing that because of large scale fraud called elections , he saw .

“By the constitution of APC, if the chairman fails to announce the result, the secretariat supposed to send another chairman and not secretary of the electoral panel , doing the announcement .

“Apart from the four of us here, two other contestants are also with us on the call for rejection of the doctored result”

In their separate remarks during the press briefing , Shaibu Abubakar Audu , Professor Stephen Ocheni and Murtala Ajaka said results announced from the election which didn’t hold , was like within a School setting , giving Pupils or Students results without sitting for any examinations .

Specifically Professor Ocheni who is from Kogi East said : ” APC Guber primary election in Kogi, was just allocation of votes which will not stand as we have all resolved to fight the impunity by petitioning appropriate authorities within the party “..

From the rejected election , a former Local Government Auditor General in Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo , was announced as winner with 78, 704 votes by Secretary of Primary Election Committee, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon.