There is a plot in the All Progressives Congress (APC) to annul the Anambra State governorship primary election which House of Representatives member Tony Nwoye won.
It was learnt that some influential members of the party in Abuja, known as “Abuja Forces”, were unhappy that Nwoye secured the ticket.
The forces include some members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), some ranking members of the National Assembly and some money-bags who feel that their interest will not be protected by Nwoye, sources said.
They are mounting pressure on the party’s leadership to drop Nwoye for Sen. Andy Uba.
But an aide to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said the primary election was transparent, free and fair.
He said the governor would be shocked if the “Abuja Forces” were allowed to cancel it.
According to sources, the “Abuja Forces”, comprising mostly of stakeholders outside Anambra State, tried to influence Shettima to skew the primaries in favour of their preferred candidate.
The governor, who resisted the pressure, also refused to get official accommodation from Governor Willie Obiano.
After the failure to influence the primary, the Abuja Forces came up with “Plan B” to cancel the primaries.
They succeeded in enlisting some members of the NWC to ensure the cancellation of the primary.
The NWC members have teamed up with some ranking members of the National Assembly and some money-bags to annul the results.
It was gathered that the forces prevailed on the NWC not to congratulate Nwoye as the party’s candidate. Besides, they are believed to be behind the petition sent to the party’s Governorship Primaries Appeal Committee sitting in Abuja.
A source said: “Their first major plan is to discredit the outcome of the governorship primaries. They have already conscripted an Adviser to the Governor of Borno State to appear before the Appeal Committee to make false claims bordering on padded delegates’ list and rigging.
“This same Adviser participated in the primaries but the forces are trying to use him to rubbish the primaries conducted by Shettima.
“Another dummy being sold to the party is that Nwoye cannot win the November 18 poll because he has no resources. They said Uba is more experienced and he has enough resources to secure victory for APC.
“Also, they have mounted campaign of calumny against Nwoye.
A source close to the governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “Shettima conducted the governorship primaries in a manner that none of the aspirants or their supporters questioned the integrity of the process before and after the election.
“The APC primary election was not like that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In PDP, Sen. Stella Oduah and Ifeanyi Ubah protested against the process. No issue was raised against Shettima’s committee.
“If anybody has any complaint, he should come out openly and say where the process was wrong.”
Asked what will be the reaction of the governor if the results of the primaries were annulled, the source added: “It will be shocking not only to the governor but to all stakeholders. And the APC will be setting a bad precedent.
“The planned annulment will have effect on the integrity of the APC. If Nwoye is dropped by APC, it will pave the way for the automatic re-election of Governor Willy Obiano. Aggrieved stakeholders and party members may sway their votes in favour of the governor.
“This was the same error committed by PDP which made it to lose election in 2015 after defection by its key leaders.”
0 Response to "Nwoye: Abuja APC chieftains plot election annulment"
Posting Komentar