Protests, fight mar APC governorship primaries

Amid hitches here and there, the main opposition party in the country, the All Progressives Congress, on Thursday held governorship primaries across the country to pick its candidates in 31 states where governorship elections will hold next year.
As at press time, candidates that emerged from the exercise included Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara).
In Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, the favoured candidate of the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was set to win the primaries when voting was concluded at about 10pm and sorting of ballots began.
By then, Ambode was the only aspirant of the 12 in the contest remaining at the venue as others had left before 10pm.
They were believed to have left in protest.
Other APC aspirants who clinched the party’s tickets included Hon. Dakuku Peterside (Rivers), Aisha Alhassan (Taraba), Okey Ezea (Enugu), Olorogun O’tega Emerhor (Delta), Umana Umana (Akwa Ibom) and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto).
The primaries were trailed by high-wire politicking, intrigues and violence in some states.
In Oyo State, Governor Abiola Ajimobi secured the ticket of the party to contest the governorship election for the second time.
At the primaries of the party, which lasted till 7:45pm, the governor polled 4,662 votes to defeat his opponent, Dr. Ayobami Wasiu, the son of late Alhaji Lam Adesina, who polled 92 votes.
Ninety votes were declared invalid.
The third aspirant, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, who was on Monday cleared in Lagos to contest along with the two others, withdrew after filing a suit at the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State asking the court to declare the congress invalid and illegal in view of the manner the delegates were selected.
In Ogun State, the political atmosphere became charged as the Deputy Governor, Prince Segun Adesegun, declared his intention to run for the governorship on the platform of the Social Democratic Party on a day his boss, with whom he is estranged, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, emerged the governorship candidate of the APC.
The two political leaders, who were elected on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in 2011, held separate political gatherings simultaneously few kilometres from each other.
Amosun emerged unopposed as the APC candidate through the party primaries held at the M.K.O. Abiola Stadium.
He polled 3,861 votes in the rancour-free exercise.
While the APC primary was ongoing, Adesegun announced his defection from the APC to the SDP to the members of the state executive of the SDP at the Ibara GRA, Abeokuta private residence of former Governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba.
Adesegun told reporters that his decision to run is personal.
Reacting to the defection of his deputy, Amosun said the gesture is one of the beauties of democracy that should be encouraged.
Olorogun O’tega Emerhor floored Fidelis Tilije in the battle for the Delta State APC governorship ticket held at the Oshimili Arcade, Asaba.
Emerhor polled 3,584 of the 3,752 votes to beat Tilije, who polled 165 votes, and Princess Nana with two votes.
Two votes were voided.
Declaring Emerhor winner, the Chairman of the primaries committee in the state, Alhaji Aliyu Saad, said the election was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere devoid of rancour and it was free and fair.
Fielding questions from newsmen moments after his emergence, Emerhor said his victory was victory for all APC members, including those who contested with him.
He urged those who ran against him to join hands with him and other party faithful to win the general election for APC in the state.
However, the Delta State primaries were marred by controversy, forcing Tilijie and his supporters to walk out in protest.
The aggrieved Tilije described the event as a charade.
A member of the House of Representatives and Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s candidate, Hon. Dakuku Peterside, picked the ticket in Rivers State in a contest that Senator Magnus Abe shunned.
The Rivers State APC caucus last week Wednesday adopted Peterside as consensus governorship candidate ahead of Abe.
The Chairman of the governorship election panel for the state, Prince Austin Eweka, lauded the party in the state for making the job of his panel a very easy one with the earlier adoption of Peterside as its consensus governorship candidate.
Nevertheless, the party still went ahead to conduct the primaries.
A total of 3,733 out of 4,321 accredited delegates voted for Peterside.
There were 3,914 valid votes and 140 voided ballots.
Speaking before the primaries, Amaechi, who expressed hope that Dakuku would sustain the legacies of his administration if elected governor, also lashed at the Federal Government for allegedly ceding some oil wells belonging to the state to Bayelsa and Abia States.
The governor also explained that his loyalists in the state House of Assembly had to be returned in the House of Assembly primaries to reward their loyalty.
A renowned businessman and shipping magnet, Chief Okechukwu Ezea, emerged unopposed as the governorship candidate of the APC in Enugu State.
The primaries, held at the party’s state secretariat, was peaceful.
A total of 3,467 delegates from 260 wards in the state unanimously affirmed Ezea as the party’s candidate for the 2015 governorship election.
In his acceptance speech, Ezea said: “It is a privilege.
“It is not a right.
“You have the right to choose who you want.
“I feel honoured to be given this assignment.
“It is a joint assignment for all of us.
“The difference is that my name is written there.
“They gave us the mandate to ask Enugu people to vote for APC.
“For 16 years, PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has failed our people.
“They have stolen our money.
“They have made life difficult for our people.
“Before 1999, life was better for our people.
“Now, it is worse.
“From 2007, PDP government in Enugu State has earned N544 billion.
“If you look around the state, from Enugu to Oji River, from Enugu to Awgu, from Enugu to Nsukka, is it like a place they have spent N544 billion on?”
Three of the eight aspirants in Taraba State protested the conduct of the primaries in the state, which was won by Jumai Aisha Alhassan.
The aggrieved aspirants – Mohammed Suleiman, Mohammed Ibrahim and Yusufu Akirikwen – alleged that the team which conducted the election did the bidding of Alhassan.
They told journalists that they asked for the list of delegates prior to the election but they were kept in the dark on all the information relating to the conduct of the exercise held at the Jolly Nyame Stadium, Jalingo.
Also, the name of one of the aspirants, Ezekiel Afukonyo, was reportedly omitted from the list of contestants.
The head of the election panel sent from Abuja, Kola Shittu, promised to brief the press on all the issues later.
The crisis rocking the Benue State chapter of the APC deepened on Thursday, resulting in a free-for-all by top officials of the party at its state secretariat in Makurdi.
In Kwara State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, was returned unopposed.
However, election was held to affirm his candidature.
Vanguard.