Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi on Wednesday besieged the party’s state secretariat in Abakaliki, to register their rejection of the outcome of the party’s governorship primary in the state which held on Sunday.
Numbering about 500, the protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as: ‘Say no to fake lists’, ‘Prof. Odoh is our choice in Ebonyi’, ‘We don’t want fake delegates from Ikwo and Ezza South’, ‘On prof. we stand’, among others.
The protesters, supporters of Prof. Bernard Odoh, who came second in the contest with a total of 519 votes, as against 785 votes polled by Sen. Sonni Ogbuoji, who emerged winner, alleged that the delegates’ lists from Ikwo and Ezza council areas were doctored.
The aggrieved APC members, who were led by Mr. Samchi Mgbada, alleged that delegates’ lists from the two council areas were manipulated to favour a particular candidate.
Prof. Odoh had earlier at a press conference rejected the outcome of the primary election, alleging fowl play in the entire process.
He alleged that the delegate lists used by the electoral committee did not emanate from the congresses of May this year.
Reacting to the allegations, the declared winner, Ogbuoji dismissed the position of his opponent on the outcome of the poll, alleging that he endorsed the delegates list which emanated from the national secretariat of the party.
He spoke while briefing the press at his campaign office in Abakaliki.
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He explained: “At that point we had a challenge before us. We now asked that the National Legal Adviser of the party be reached for him to explain to us why we have Certified True Copies that were not the same.
“But he insisted that the list from Abuja was the valid copy as far as they were concerned. At that point it would be openly said that they denied knowledge of the one in the state isn’t it?
“At that point, Odoh who was seated at the front row raised his hand and said that this exercise cannot afford to be in futility; and so, the national body that has come must be allowed to do their job.
“That we are wasting our time here; that we should allow them to do their job”, Ogbuoji said.
Addressing the protesters, the State APC Chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu, appealed to the aggrieved party faithful to remain calm as their matter would be looked into.
Meanwhile, a senatorial aspirant for Ebonyi Central zone, Chief Enyi Enyi, has threatened to resist the contentious delegates list should the electoral committee attempt to use it for senatorial primary election.
