Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC-Kogi), one of the aspirants for the governorship election in Kogi State, has faulted the conduct of the All Progressives Congress primary election in the state.
The outspoken senator and ex-President, Nigeria Union of Journalists said this at a news briefing in Abuja on Saturday.
Adeyemi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, expressed disappointment at the conduct of the exercise, describing it as “a new phenomenon of electoral malpractice”.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory said: “We witnessed a new phenomenon of electoral malpractices and embedded corruption in the electoral process of our country.
“I have heard of rigging 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 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 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….”
Adeyemi said further that the National Secretariat of the APC and the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Kogi State must be prepared and explain to Nigerians, if primary election was ever held in the state.
He added: “The primary election was not conducted.
“All of us mobilised our members.
“Behold, none of the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission nor even the panel that was to conduct the election was there.
“The Chairman of that panel, the Governor 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.
“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.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that APC had declared the former Auditor General for Local Governments in Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, as the winner of its governorship primary election in the state.
Secretary of the Kogi State APC Primary Election Committee, Patrick Obahiagbon, who announced the results, declared Ododo as the winner of the election and emergence as the party’s flag-bearer for the November 11 governorship election.
Obahiagbon, who made the declaration, said Ododo polled 78,704 out of the 83,419 total valid votes cast in the primaries.
He was said to have defeated Salami Momodu, who scored 1,506 votes; Shaaibu Abubakar-Audu, 763 votes; and Prof. Stephen Ocheni, 552.
Dr Sanusi Ohiere polled 424 votes, while Senator Adeyemi scored 311 votes.
NAN also reports that eight other aspirants, including the Deputy Governor of the state, Edward Onoja, stepped down for Ododo.
The others are a former Commissioner for Finance, David Adebanji-Jimoh; Asiwaju Ashiru Idris; and Okala Yakubu.
Also on the list were Abdulkareem Asuku, Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello; and the state’s Accountant-General, Momoh Jibrin.
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