APC Primary Election, Aspirants Unhappy with Party over presented report, despite Appeal

The All Progressives Congress (APC) after the just concluded Party Primaries set up an Appeal Committee to alleviate the said grievances of some of its Party members, who were not happy with the Party over the results of the Primaries, However the grieved candidates have let out an outcry suggesting that several of the petitions submitted to the Appeals Panel was either not dealt with or dismissed.

Some of the candidates received the response that their appeals were lacking in substance and many of those whose petitions were not entertained did not receive this response heartily. Mr. Adaze Wilson Imafidon one of the unhappy aspirants who was unable to secure the party’s ticket to contest the Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde House of Representatives Federal Constituency seat, submitted a petition to the party’s appeal committee via his lawyers, stating that the purported primary election wasn’t held properly in his constituency.

His legal representatives, Imafidon and Imafidon of Eghosa Chambers, have said that their client resorted to writing the petition to the committee because of the injustice that was meted out to him and his supporters who are party members. The aspirant claimed that the accredited members of the APC committee sent to the area were absent during the purported election exercise in the Orhionmwon/Uhunmwonde Federal Constituency with the exception of only Urhonigbe South where the INEC were the only officials present.

The two petitions submitted by Senator Magnus Abe and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs against the governorship Primaries in Rivers were not considered, while the only petition recieved from Delta tate written by the Governorship aspirant Prof. Pat Utomi was left unattended to and labelled ‘overtaken by event’.

The final report presented, indicates that all petitions against the Senate and House of Representatives Primaries were rejected by the committee across all four states; Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross Rivers state.

Four petitions were submitted against the conduct of the Governorship Primary in Borno State, and the committee suggested that a consensus option be considered and put in place by the National Chairman in conjunction with the President.

Reasons ranging from lack of proof, lack of merit to lack of time for fresh Primaries were given as to why most of the petitions against the conduct of the Primaries for the Senate and House of assemblies were not upheld while there were no tangible reasons why some were not upheld.  However, some petitions were upheld and a few of the petitioners were declared candidates of the party either because they actually won the Primaries and were replaced or for other reasons ranging from lack of clearance and others that were not clearly stated by the committee.

In Delta State, while seven were rejected eight petitions were upheld for winning the Primaries and having their names replaced In Akwa Ibom State the three petitions against the conduct of the Governorship Primary were rejected together with eight House of Representatives seat, only five were upheld.

Other States where several petitions from unhappy aspirants were received include Kaduna State, Kebbi State, Katsina State, Sokoto State, Taraba State, Bauchi State, Ekiti State, Adamawa State, Bauchi State, Osun State, Ogun State, Ondo State and Lagos State.

Furthermore, aspirants whose petitions did not meet with success even after submitting to the Appeal Panel have regarded the conduct of the Party’s Primaries unfair and improper and have tagged the action of the Panel “Injustice” protesting against the report of the Appeals Panel.