With the conclusion of the State and National Assembly primary elections of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the North-Central APC Forum has declared that more than 50 per cent of the party’s members are unhappy with the conduct of the exercise.
The APC primaries have been characterised by series of disqualifications, conflicting results, irregularities and violence, reports The Guardian.
Several of the aspirants who were screened out of the primaries have disputed their disqualification, threatening legal action if the decisions announced by the primary election committees were not reversed.
Speaking on the development, the North-Central APC Forum said the “poor conduct” of the exercise has vindicated its earlier warning that the process for the primary elections had been commercialised by party national officials.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, the APC Forum suggested that most of those disqualified from the race are people who did not dance to the tune of the party’s national officers and their cronies selected to coordinate the exercise in different states.
According to the Forum, many APC members are not only unhappy with the primaries, but are also dissatisfied with how the national chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, is running the party.
“What we have witnessed is that the process continued getting worse by the day – they are disqualifying people that are supposed to be cleared while clearing those that are supposed to be disqualified, all because of their selfish interests.
“That is why we earlier raised the alarm that they have commercialized the process.
“From what we have gathered, 50 percent of party members across the country are not happy with the conduct of the APC primary elections. They are not happy with the national chairman,” the statement said.
The North-Central APC Forum further alleged that, unlike what was obtainable in the past, selection of members of the current primary election committees was not based on competence or experience.
Membership was largely based on personal relationship with party officials, the Forum said.
The statement added, “Another reason for shoddy conduct the primaries is that the national officers did not send people with the required capacity and experience to the states to supervise the primaries.
“What we have seen play out is that they sent their cronies to different states to conduct primary elections, even when such persons lack the capacity and exposure to handle such sensitive assignment. Selection of members of the primary election committees was simply based on personal relationship and a willingness to do the bidding of party national officials.
“If you’re an aspirant and you refuse to dance to their tune, once they notice that you are likely to win the primary election they will rush to announce that you have been disqualified. That is why we are having confusion concerning the outcome of the primaries in several constituencies and senatorial districts.”
The Forum restated its demand that national officers of the party should be called to order, to forestall what it described as a damaging crisis in the party ahead of the general elections.
