CONFUSION TRAILS APC ONDO GUBER PRIMARY AS APPEAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS FRESH PRIMARY

Following alleged irregularities that marred the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship primary on September 3 2016 in Ondo State, the party’s Appeal Committee has recommended the cancellation of the primary election.

The Appeal Committee, headed by Hellen Bendega, recommended the conduct of a fresh primary to elect the party’s flag bearer in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Recall that the contentious primary had produced a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, as the party’s governorship candidate.

Following Akeredolu’s emergence, one of the governorship aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke, has rejected the outcome of the election, saying the result was not the true reflection of the poll.

Oke had  alleged that the result was manipulated.

However, the Appeal Committee, recommended that a rerun primary should be held immediately in order to beat the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for the submission of the names of candidates for the election.

The committee suggested that the party’s national leadership should revert to the earlier delegates’ list, which was distributed to aspirants in Abuja, stressing that a final and properly harmonised list acceptable to all contenders should be compiled.

According to the committee, the properly harmonised list should not be released on the eve of the primary, but much earlier to give sufficient time for the take-off of the election.

Pointing out that there was substantial compliance with rules during the primary, the panel however noted, “that consideration may not be sufficient reason to ignore such serious and weighty, identified irregularities.

“In view of the change mantra of this administration, it is pertinent that the party blazes the trail by refusing to condone a less than perfect exercise. We, therefore, formally submit our recommendations for the National Working Committee to use its discretionary powers in line with the APC constitution and the Electoral Act to arrive at a final decision.”

Reacting to the report, Akeredolu has appealed to his supporters not be troubled, saying the election was not cancelled.

Akeredolu  said the misinformation was the handiwork of some desperate politicians and their hirelings who strive on propaganda and misrepresentation of facts.

Credit- Daily Post