Protests hit Zamfara, Minna over APC
primaries
• Akeredolu, Sani, others fume, Ita-Giwa returns to PDP
• Why national chair should stay, by Enugu chapter
• Akeredolu, Sani, others fume, Ita-Giwa returns to PDP
• Why national chair should stay, by Enugu chapter
Criticism trailing the recent
primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) intensified yesterday as
aggrieved party members held protests in Zamfara and Niger State.
The demonstration in Zamfara began
around 9:00 a.m., with hundreds of members gathering at the party’s
headquarters. They marched through major streets, chanting songs denouncing
National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and calling for his resignation.
The protest was reportedly organised
by chairmen of the 14 local government areas, led by Aminu Gamagiwa, chairman
of Maru local government and the All Local Governments Forum of APC chairmen in
the state.Addressing the crowd, the secretary of the forum, Babangida Mohammed,
declared that the party in the state had lost confidence in Oshiomhole’s
leadership.
He accused the national chairman of
allegedly sponsoring crises in the state and of arbitrary and unconstitutional
dissolution of its executive. He also claimed the chairman disenfranchised many
loyal members through botched state primaries.Mohammed handed a protest letter
to the state APC secretary, Alhaji Sani Musa Mafara, for onward delivery to the
National Working Committee (NWC).
Ripples from the primaries were also
felt in Minna, the Niger State, where protesters reportedly blocked the road
leading to Government House, alleging the party’s leadership replaced the name
of their candidate.
They claimed the party substituted
Jafaru Illiyasu Auna, believed to be the winner of the ticket for
Magama/Mariga/Rijau Federal Constituency, with Shehu Saleh, a contestant for
the Zone C senatorial ticket. They also claimed the national leadership of the
party withdrew the certificate of return from Auna.
“Those who feel aggrieved reserve
the right to demand that justice be done. If this includes the removal of Mr.
Oshiomhole, so be it,” said Dr. Oladoyin Odebowale, an aide to Ondo State
governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
In a statement in Akure yesterday,
the senior special assistant to the governor on special duties and strategy
said: “Those who collected varying and humongous amounts as fees from aspirants
during the last grandiose charade called primaries and submitted names dictated
to them by a cabal, notorious for capturing political power for unbridled
pillage, should be bold to explain their real motives to the people.
“They should be honest enough to
deal with the issues. Events, which took place across the country during the
political charade, have exposed not only sheer incompetence on the part of the
national leadership of the party, but painfully, it has revealed a shocking
proclivity towards banditry and impunity.”
Pro-Oshiomhole protesters had
earlier in the week accused Akeredolu of spearheading a plot by some APC
governors to remove the embattled chairman.Not everyone in Ondo agreed though.
Mr. Biyi Richard Orilabawaye, a member of an APC faction in the state, said the
governor was “guilty of everything he is accusing Oshiomhole of.” Akeredolu has
sown the wind and should therefore reap the whirlwind, he said.
Rather than stay in the party,
complaining, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa simply returned to the opposition People
Democratic Party (PDP). In a statement released to reporters in Calabar
yesterday, she said she could not fathom how the APC could have popular and
tested leaders who can muster tremendous goodwill for the party and yet treat
them with disdain.
Senator Shehu Sani, who defected
Tuesday, described the APC primaries in Kaduna as “organised crime and a coronation
of fraud.” A party that wants to “deliver change should not fake a pregnancy,”
he said. Until he jumped ship, the senator fought and lost a suspense-full
battle to win a return ticket to the legislative chamber.
Also, in Imo State, the party’s use
of automatic tickets came under fire, with a warning that unless the
“injustice” is addressed, the “party will harvest litigations upon
litigations.”A group of party stakeholders, led by one Okenzi Sylvester Obinna
condemned the decision by the NWC to grant automatic tickets to Senator Ben
Uwajimogu and three members of the National Assembly from the state
The group claimed it has information
proving that the party dropped the names of four of its members, including
Prof. Nnamdi Obiareri, who were duly elected in the state primaries.
The Enugu State chapter however
dismissed calls for Oshiomhole’s resignation. At a press conference, chairman
of the party, Dr Ben Nwoye, argued: “Oshiomhole is God-sent to APC. He took
over few months ago but has won elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as
senatorial elections. Those calling for his removal because they lost in the
primaries lack the capacity to remove him. He will finish his tenure; he has
done well and should be allowed to continue.”
Credits: Guardian