APC disbands Imo primaries panel over ‘fake’ results

NATIONAL chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, said different results declared by two factions of the party in Imo State as the outcome of the governorship primaries held in the state were fake.

He, therefore, announced the disbandment of the Ahmed Gulak-led electoral panel sent to the state to conduct the exercise.

The party boss, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to apprise him of developments on the primaries conducted by the party nationwide, told State House correspondents that a new panel would be set up to conduct the exercise in Imo State.

“The case of Imo State is not too good news for today but not surprising, they have to learn to begin to comply with rules. They have two fake results and we adopt both two fake results, none of them is genuine and we will appoint fresh committee, electoral panel that will conduct a transparent direct primaries which will reflect the will of members of the party in the state, regardless of the interest and the powers behind any of the groups,” he said.

On the contentious Lagos State governorship primaries, Oshiomhole said the national leadership of the party was in control of the exercise.

“Everything that is being done is done under the control of and supervision and directions of the NWC,” he said.

On what he told the president about Lagos primaries, the former Edo State governor said: “everything is being done to ensure that there is no violence. Democracy doesn’t flourish with violence and Nigeria must begin to learn how to differ in opinion and in choice without fighting.

“For me, I am excited that if we can do it in Lagos, we can do it anywhere.”

He said nobody would take any party member for granted, adding that it was interesting that “this time, very ordinary people are to determine whether a governor should run again or not.”

In a statement signed by the party’s national publicity secretary, Yekeen Nabena, though gave no reason for suspending the Imo State governorship primaries indefinitely, Nigerian Tribune findings, however, revealed that the action was informed by the conflicting results trailing the outcome of the process.

The chairman of the committee that conducted the Imo State governorship primaries, Ahmed Gulak, had announced Senator Hope Uzodinmma as the winner of the primaries, but there was a counter claim that Uche Nwosu, son in-law to Governor Rochas Okorocha, emerged as the party’s standard-bearer.

Senator Uzodinma was reported to have polled 423,895 votes to defeat eight other aspirants.
Giving his account of the results in Abuja, Gulak said he was lucky to have escaped from Owerri.

The former presidential adviser said about nine members of the 12-member committee were not that lucky, as they were allegedly abducted in the state.

He said he had to leave Owerri at about 4.00 a.m. on Tuesday for Port Harcourt in Rivers State, where he took a flight to Abuja.

“At 4.00 a.m., we had to leave Owerri because around 2.00 a.m., some of my members disappeared from the hotel where we were supposed to be together.

“Myself, Colonel Igbanor and Honourable Bernard Miko were the only three doing this job as others disappeared. So, when we sensed that something was fishy, by 4.00 a.m., we left Owerri after concluding the entry of the results.

“The election was held, results generated and a winner emerged and the winner is Senator Hope Uzodinma,” he said.

He dismissed the idea of a minority report, adding that he had with him the result he compiled as returning officer, while he asked aggrieved members to wait for the appeal panel.