The thousands of APC members who converged at President Muhamadu Buhari Campaign Office at Barde Way in Jalingo said the heavy rain been recorded in Jalingo Taraba state capital cannot stop the anger in them over what they described as a criminal act been perpetrated on them by the APC governorship primary election committee sent to Taraba state to conduct credible election.
The APC members who were carrying placards inscriptions, “Elsuldi Must go, Baba Buhari save Taraba APC, No Governorship primaries in Taraba, there must be justices, they accused the newly sworn-in chairman of the party in the state Bar Ibrahim Tukur Elsudi of collecting huge amount of money to manipulate the outcome of the Governorship primary election in Taraba state.
The protesters further accused the electoral committee of selling the primary election to the highest bidder to carry the result without minding the chances of the party come to the general election in 2019.
The protesters who barricaded Barde way and Buhari campaign office comprised of women leaders of all the other nine APC Governorship aspirants who were alleged to have been schemed out, all the youths leaders, thousands of ordinary party members and returning officers of the other nine aspirants.
Addressing journalist at the President Buhari Campaign Organization office, the leader of the nine returning officers of the earlier protesting Governorship aspirants in Taraba state Bamile Abdulahi said there was no governorship primary election in Taraba state.
Bamile who was flanked by eight other returning officers and other party members said election results sheets brought by the electoral committee in Taraba state were duplicates copies, not original sheets as usual.
He said the electorates who were waiting for the election officers at various wards for the conduct of the governorship primary election waited in vain while a purported result was announced in Jalingo in favour of Sani Abubakar Danladi the former acting governor of Taraba state.
Those who spoke to a journalist at the protest venue alleged that the primary election was characterized with massive intimidation by thugs who were cutting party members with cutlasses and beating women who were at a voting point for the exercise.
“Three persons are currently receiving treatment at Specialist Hospital here in Jalingo, there was no voting exercise as demanded by the national Secretariat of our party to choose a governorship candidate in Taraba, if the national working committee want to win Taraba come 2019, there must be a fresh primary election for party to choose someone, not by highjacking the process” Yau Ismaila, a returning officer of Garba Umar spoke in Hausa language.
When contacted, the former acting governor of Taraba state Sani Abubakar Danladi who was declared the winner of the primary election on Wednesday by the electoral committee said the protest was mobilized by some people who lost in the primary election.
Sani said is normal in politics when election is conducted there must be a winner and a loser, he vow to extend his olive hand to those who lost in the primary election to come together and work for the victory of the party come 2019 general election.