Kogi: Adeyemi, Abubakar, Others Want APC Primary Cancelled
*Seeks intervention by Buhari, Tinubu, Adamu, ACF, others
*NGO observers commend party primaries, say exercise is credible
Alex Enumah in Abuja and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja
The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Smart Adeyemi, son of a former Kogi State governor, Shuaibu Abubakar and three others have demanded immediate cancellation of the just concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) primary ahead of the governorship election.
They, however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima and the Arewa Consultative Forum to intervene in order to save democracy in Kogi State.
In the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/556/2023 and FHC/ABJ/ CS/557/2023, filed by Senator Adeyemi and Abubakar respectively, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare as illegal, unlawful and invalid the purported direct primary election said to have been conducted by APC and which produced Ahmed Usman Ododo as the governorship candidate of the APC in November this year.
The grouse of the aggrieved governorship aspirants was that the alleged unlawful selection of Ododo ran foul of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act as well as Article 20 of the APC’s Constitution.
Apart from Adeyemi and Abubakar, other aspirants who have already commenced legal action against the outcome of the primary included a former Minister of State for Education, Professor Stephen Ocheni, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Martala Yakubu Ajaka and Dr Sanusi Ohiara.
The plaintiffs amongst others prayed the court to invoke Section 177 of the Constitution, Section 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act and Article 20 of the APC Constitution, to declare the purported primary election invalid.
They also asked the court for an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reject and refuse recognition of the name of Ahmed Usman Ododo as APC’s governorship candidate on the grounds that he emerged from an invalid primary election.
They further prayed for another order compelling APC to conduct a fresh primary election and to give all aspirants equal opportunity as prescribed by the Electoral Act, 2022.
Senator Adeyemi’s suit and that of Abubakar are instituted on their behalf separately by Dr Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju.
Meanwhile, a group, the National Independent Democratic Observers (NIDO) has commended the APC for holding a free, fair and credible gubernatorial pramaries in Kogi State.
This was contained in a press statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Habbey Oladejo, which stated that from the field reports of its observer team, Alh. Usman Ododo was clearly the most accepted by the majority of the party members.
“The Kogi APC Primaries which produced Alh. Usman Ododo as the party’s gubernatorial flag-bearer of the party was credible, transparent and largely a true reflection of the party member’s wishes across the 21 local government area of the state.
“This is without prejudices to the avoidable lapses which are mainly logistical shortcomings on the part of the party, inadequate information dissemination among others.
“While protest and seeking redress is a constitutional guaranteed right of all aggrieved parties, we want to enjoin politicians and their agents to stop stamping truth on its head, when events fail to go their way,” he said.
