Abuja (Sundiata Post) – One wonder if it is a conspiracy of silence that more than a week after the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the national Assembly seat, uneasy calm has enveloped the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the party as it has failed to present candidates for the National Assembly positions in the forthcoming 2019 elections.
Our reporter gathered that the scheduled Friday and Saturday primary elections for the FCT Senate and House of Representatives for Abuja South and AMAC/Bwari constituencies could not hold according to laid down procedures.
Recall that the national Secretariat has imposed direct primary on the FCT chapter against the indirect primaries opted for by the aspirants. It was the outcome of the imposed direct primary that caused the violence and created confusion as the aspirants and stakeholders had already agreed and spent time and resources working on indirect primaries.
It was gathered that the story is the same in AMAC/ Bwari Federal Constituency from Bwari Central ward, Byazhine Ward, Usman Ward, Ushafa ward and other 6 wards as well as the 12 wards of Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Based on what transpired, the aspirants’ supporters had been pointing accusing fingers at the national leaders of the party, saying the process was allegedly compromised deliberately to favour certain anointed candidates.
They alleged that though there was no election across 80 percent of the political wards, some interest groups allocated figures to their preferred aspirants without any proper counting of party members.
Prior to the conduct of the direct primaries, the party stakeholders and aspirants had held series of meetings where 18 out of 20 aspirants were said to have unanimously resolved to go for indirect primary.
But the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led national working committee of the APC was alleged to have insisted on direct primary and directed the electoral officials to conduct same.
Recall that supporters had on Wednesday October 3, staged a peaceful protest at the party’s national secretariat over what they alleged was ‘imposition’ of voting pattern on them by the national working committee (NWC).
Addressing journalists at the party’s secretariat, leader of the protesters, Murtala Karish, said they were unhappy with the position of the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.
He said: “FCT APC stakeholders and the members had since settled for indirect election to elect their candidates, so we will not accept any new arrangement outside what we have agreed from the beginning.”
The protesters said their action was ignited by the approval of direct primaries by the NWC of the party at the APC national secretariat.
However, tension brewed after purported results were alleged to have been posted on Facebook in favour of some of the aspirants from few areas where the elections were said to have taken place, even though there was no official declaration.
An observer speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was unfortunate that the primary election for the House of Representatives on Saturday for Abuja South and Abuja North to elect the flag bearers, but nothing had been heard about them since then.
One of the observer who spoke on conditions of anonymity, while commenting on the election, described it as a charade, saying the imposition of direct primaries by the NWC of the APC had created a lot of crises among stakeholders and aspirants in the FCT.
He said the direct primaries had only caused more harm than good to the people of the territory, noting that several lives were lost and property destroyed in Wuse, Kuje, Dutse-Alhaji and Gwagwa, adding that many supporters of the party, including security agents were wounded during the exercise.
“You can quote me, there was no election in any part of the FCT, all they succeeded in doing was to sit down in a hotel room to allocate figures to each of the aspirants. And that was why we the stakeholders insisted that the NWC should allow us to conduct indirect primaries, but they refused,” he said.
Tension has continued to heighten across the territory over the delay in releasing results of the House of Representatives’ primaries.(Daily Trust).
