The Ebonyi Central Senatorial District candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Julius Ucha, has condemned a recent media report ascribed to him insinuating that former Governor Martin Elechi remotely masterminded the killings recorded during the failed APC senatorial primaries held at Onueke in Ezza South Local Government Area of the State.
Reacting to the report on Friday in Abakaliki when he spoke with newsmen, the senator described the report as a gross misrepresentation of facts.
Ucha explained that inasmuch as there were minor arguments concerning the adoption of direct primaries or not for the election during which he maintained the resolution of the party in the State in favour of indirect primaries, he never accused anyone of responsibility for the mishap.
Ucha further maintained that in the course of the arguments, he simply overheard the acting chairman of the primary election committee report that a certain old man raised the alarm that there would be war if the committee failed to adopt direct primaries for the election in which no one was named.
He admonished media representatives to verify their facts before pushing it to public to forestall breach of peace.
He however expressed appreciation to security agencies for their intervention, which helped to stem further escalation of the crises during the event.
Ucha explained: “I think the report is a misrepresentation of fact.
“I never made a statement alluding such publication to anybody, let alone the former Governor, to be behind the killings because I did not know who is behind the killings.
“That matter is for the security personnel to unveil.
“What I know is this: as we were going to Onueke, I was called by Comrade Chinedu Ogah (a House of Representatives aspirant) to come to the party office along Abakaliki- Afikpo Road.
“So I went there and listened to arguments of the primary election committee and some leaders who were there.
“The impression was that they were going for direct primaries.
“But I said direct primaries cannot hold in Ebonyi because the party has passed a resolution and communicated INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) that Ebonyi State was for indirect primary.
“And I questioned the validity of the direct primaries and why election committee was at the party secretariat because the business of primary election was for the committee to pay courtesy call to the party and then go away to do their job.
“They were not to be dictated for by anybody.
“I was surprised that the primary election committee was at the party secretariat and was arguing weather to do direct or indirect primaries when they have a mandate from the national secretariat.
“I said the primary election committee has no power to change the goal post at the middle of the game.
“For them to talk about direct primaries, they must go back to Abuja, convoke a meeting of the National Working Committee and make a resolution and communicate back to INEC that Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone was to use direct primaries.
“Otherwise nobody would change the position of the party, not even through a telephone conversation.
“For them to talk about direct primaries they must return to Abuja and follow due process.
“Neither the party at Abakaliki nor the primary election committee has the authority to communicate to INEC on mode of the elections.
“That was my argument.
“But after that argument, the primary election committee saw reasons and decided to move.
“Just as they were trying to leave the party secretariat, one of them, I think the acting chairman of the election committee, said the file he was holding was snatched from him and one of them escaped, left and the other one was arrested I think the acting chairman and he was rescued by the Directorate of State Security Service.
“That was what happened and then we left to Onueke.
“As we were at Onueke, accreditation had finished and voting commenced.
“Then, we started hearing gunshots.
“People were killed, vehicles were burnt, the primary election was halted by hoodlums who started shooting guns and killing people.
“We thank the Commissioner of Police, the Director of DSS and other security agencies for their role to calm the situation.
“The party also, at that time, decided to change venue of the election and it was held peacefully and the votes were counted.
“When we were at the party secretariat, the former Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Martin Elechi, was there.
“I didn’t hear him say anything even when I was speaking and when I finished speaking, I did not hear him say anything.
“The only person that I heard who was saying something was the acting chairman of the electoral committee.
“He was saying that a certain old man was saying that if the direct primaries did not hold, their would be war, so I did not hear the former Governor say anything.
“I never heard the former Governor say that heads will roll.
“If somebody attributed that to me, I have been quoted out of context.”
Recall that the said APC primaries in the State was ridden in crisis, which resulted in killings and violence to the extent that some unconfirmed reports put the death toll at over six persons.
Some journalists on official duty were also allegedly harassed, with their gadgets confiscated by suspected political thugs.
Some media organs had carried reports alleging that Senator Ucha accused the former Governor of remotely instigating the crises leading to the killings.
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