One of the top contenders of the Edo APC
2024 guber primary, Senator Professor Oserheimen Osunbor has called on
President Bola Tinubu to wade into the looming crisis of the party after a
flawed primary conducted last Saturday.
Senator Osunbor also called for the
cancellation of the election which has produced two or four candidates, if you
add Prince Clem Agba and Hon Anamero Dekiri who had each claimed victory.,
stressing that the primary election “cannot stand the test of legal
scrutiny but rather will jeopardize the chances of APC.
“This is, in fact, their true intention and
desire. There has been a brazen disregard of the Party Guidelines, Party
Constitution and the Electoral Act, which may prove fatal in the event of
litigation.”
He made these disclosures in a press
conference on Sunday evening in Iruekpen his hometown where he chronicled what
transpired last Saturday declaring that: “On Saturday, 27th, February 2024 all
registered members of APC across Edo state came out to vote for their preferred
candidate for the 21 September governorship election.
“To their disappointment, the election did
not take place anywhere that I know of across the 18 Local Government areas of
Edo State. The party officials deployed from the Abuja office of the Natiional
Organising Secretary to conduct the elections at the various wards and Local
Government areas of Edo State were kept in hotels in Benin.
“There is no record or video of any of them
preforming their assigned roles in the election at their respective designated
points.
“Specifically, in my own Ward 6 of Esan
LGA, where over 200 members assembled and were eagerly waiting, no electoral
official of the party turned up.
“Infact, there was no election anywhere in
Esan West and other LGAs including Akoko-Edo and Etsako West. I was aghast and
in disbelief when I saw a video of the purported result of Esan West election
being announced by a lady said to be a retuning officer.
“What we saw on television was not result
of election but allocation of votes by some persons in Benin to each of the
aspirants.
“In the end, two candidates have been
announced as winners. Sen. Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Denis Idahosa in a primary
election that was never held or was not conducted in accordance with the law
and guidelines. This charade confirms the widespread suspicion that there is a
deliberate plan by some people to create crises in Edo state APC, instigate bitterness
among the members and set the public against the party in order to aid the
victory of the presumed PDP candidate.
“They are labouring to present a weak APC
candidate that will be easily over-run and defeated by the presumed PDP
candidate during the election. They are not working in the interest of APC but
of PDP. We must avoid a repeat of the scenario which lead to the defeat of APC
in 2020.
“I hereby appeal to his excellency
President Bola Tinubu to:-
1 Cause an investigation to be instituted
into the allegation that this sham of a primary election and the crises it has
generated have been induced by gratification given and received by the
principal actors to damage APC and pave the way for the emergence of the PDP
candidate in the election.
2. Order the cancellation of the election
which has produced two or four candidates, if you add Prince Clem Agba and Hon
Anamero Dekiri who have each claimed victory. The primary election cannot stand
the test of legal scrutiny but rather will jeopardize the chances of APC. This
is, in fact, their true intention and desire. There has been a brazen disregard
of the Party Guidelines, Party Constitution and the Electoral Act, which may
prove fatal in the event of litigation
3. Order another primary election to be conducted
ahead of the 24th February deadline set by INEC. Different officers should be
assigned to conduct the fresh primaries.
“I make this appeal as the most popular
aspirant with name recognition and acceptability throughout the length and
breadth of Edo state.
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