Aspirant Wants APC Akwa Ibom Primary Election Cancelled

Paschal Emeka

One of the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in Akwa Ibom State, Engr. Lawrence Bassey Esin has called for the outright cancellation of the governorship primary election held on the early hours of 27th May, 2022, in Uyo, describing it as a charade.

In a petition he and other aggrieved aspirants send to the APC National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu and Primary Elections Appeal Committee and obtained by our Correspondent in Abuja, the aspirants alleged that “the Governorship Primary Election that purportedly produced an aspirant identified as Mr. Akanimo Udofia was nothing but a pre-meditated act of monumental fraud, criminality and illegality deliberately and carefully executed to undermine the integrity of our great party with the sole aimed at denying our party the chance to produce a Governorship candidate recognize by law to Governorship election in Akwa Ibom state.

He further alleged that the primary election was held without the backing of the law whatsoever and illegal exercise was held in fragrant contravention of Section 84 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 which stipulates to the that: “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Act shall hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions which shall be monitored by the Commission”.

“At the primary election purportedly held as aforesaid, there was no official from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who was duly assigned to be at the venue and at the time of the purported primary election to monitor the exercise purportedly conducted in the name of a Primary election.

“On the faithful day, members of the Party’s election Committee mandated to oversee the conduct of the Governorship Primary in Akwa Ibom State arrived Uyo, the State Capital from Abuja through the Victor Attah International Airport Uyo. Upon their arrival and while at the Uyo Airport, the security situation was tense, unsafe and chaotic. Upon being informed of the security situation on ground, the panel members could not disembark from the jet that flew them into Uyo and were forced to delay for over 3 hours at the Airport.

“Due to the tense security situation, the officials were prevented by hired thugs and hoodlums from proceeding to the INEC office in Uyo where they were supposed to report first, this situation caused another delay for about 5 hours.

“Due to concerns about the safety and lives of the members of the election Committee and the safety election materials, the security agents, INEC officials, the aspirants for the election and party leaders agreed that due to psychological imbalance and trauma experienced by the officials as a result of the threatening and tense security atmosphere and the need to guarantee the safety of lives and election materials, that the election be postponed till further notice, while the election officials be made to return to Abuja pending when a new date will be fixed for the election. This decision was reached in agreement with the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa lbom state, Mr. Mike Igini and the State Commissioner of Police after which the aspirants, delegates and party leaders retired home and left.

“In the morning of Friday 27th May, 2022, I woke up to a shocking news both on the social and conventional media that a governorship primary election was purportedly held earlier at the dead of the night and in my absence and the absence of other Governorship Aspirants, where one Aspirant identified as Mr. Akanimo Udofia was declared the winner.

“Upon personal enquiries from calls I made and received, it was confirmed to me that the purported exercise actually took place without the presence of the Commissioner of Police and any duly appointed INEC Official as mandatorily required by the Law.

According to him, Akanimo Udofia is a card carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and did contest and lost the Peoples Democratic Party Governorship Primary Election which was held in Uyo on Wednesday, 25th May, 2022 prior to his participation in the purported primary election under our Party, the All progressive Congress (APC).

He expressed concern that findings by most party leaders and aspirants revealed that Akanimo Udofia is and was a member of the People Democratic Party (PDP) as at the time of the purported election and there are unassailable evidences pointing to the fact that he contested and lost the People Democratic Party Governorship election in Akwa lbom state two days earlier, his name having been on the ballot of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship primary election a week earlier.

“This clumsiness and uncertainty in the status of the said Mr. Akanimo Udofia’s membership of our great party has rendered any attempt to fraudulently impose him as the candidate of our party for the Akwa Ibom Governorship election a nullity, as it will amount to a grave infraction of our electoral law for an aspirant to be on the ballot of two political parties for the same election and at the same time, a situation the party cannot afford to gamble with. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that the legal implication of this will simply and directly be interpreted to mean that our party, the APC will have no candidate for 2023.

He prayed that the Governorship Primary election for Akwa Ibom state purportedly held on Friday, May 27, 2022 in Ekpo Obot street, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state or any other place whatsoever be cancelled and nullified on the grounds that it failed to comply with the minimum requirements of the relevant extant laws governing the conduct of such election in Nigeria; that a fresh election which will meet the requirements of the law be held at a new date and venue to be decided by the National leadership of the Party and the membership and legal capacity of Mr. Akanimo Udofia be investigated with the view to ascertaining his qualification to contest the Akwa Ibom Governorship primary election.

That where in the event that the possibility to conduct a fresh Governorship Primary election for Akwa Ibom state shall not be feasible in order to meet the deadline for the submission of the name of the Party’s Candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the purposes of participation in the 2023 Akwa Ibom state Governorship election, a duly acceptable process should be explored by the leadership of the Party for the nomination of a consensus candidate for the Party.