Smart Adeyemi, senator representing Kogi west, has faulted
the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which produced a
governorship candidate for the party.
On Friday, Patrick Obahiagbon, secretary of the Kogi APC
primary election committee, announced Ahmed Ododo, a former local government
auditor-general in Kogi state, as the winner of the governorship primary.
Ododo scored 78, 704 votes to beat six other contestants
including Adeyemi who came seventh with 311 votes.
The governorship candidate is believed to be the preferred
candidate of Yahaya Bello, governor of the state.
Faulting the conduct of the election during a news
conference in Abuja on Saturday, Adeyemi said results were already prepared
before the election.
“We witnessed a new phenomenon of electoral malpractices and
embedded corruption in the electoral process of our country,” he said.
“I have heard of riggings of elections but I have not heard
of the new phenomenon which we must do all we can to stop in this country.
“The governorship
primary election was scheduled for yesterday (Friday). As expected, all of us
were in our various wards.
“What we heard was that election result was already
announced. Results were prepared, even before the commencement of voting.
“Announcements were made and I was taken aback. This is the
worst malpractice; the worst form of rigging and unprecedented in the history
of Nigeria.
“If there was an election and it was rigged, we will 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.”
The senator added that the national secretariat of the APC
and the resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Kogi must be prepared and
explain to Nigerians, whether or not elections held in the state.
“The primary election was not conducted. All of us mobilised
our members. Behold non of the officials of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) nor even the panel that was to conduct the election was
there,” he said.
“The chairman of that panel, the Gov. of Zamfara, Bello
Matawalle, was the one that by the constitution of the APC, was to announce the
result.
“He came, we saw him, but Matawalle was not happy with the
way and manner, so he left,” Adeyemi said.
“By the constitution
of APC, if the chairman of the panel fails to announce the result, the
secretariat is supposed to send another chairman, not the secretary announcing
the result.
“There is a guideline, but the secretary went ahead, and
announced the result.
“The primary election
in Kogi was just allocation of votes.”
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