After the submission of the Nomination and the Expression of Interest forms by well-meaning APC aspirants in Akoko North-East/North-West federal constituency of Ondo State, the exercise begun with the information on the documents provided by APC national headquarters as location for the primary election changed without notifying eight aspirants, the 9th who evidently is literally the one deciding everything like a fiction movie behind toying the aspirants to wear them down.
The venue was given as a hall in Ikare-Akoko, but changed on the day of the Primary Election to a hotel in Akure with no official notification to any of eight aspirants. They managed to get the information barely two hours before voting commence but after they arrived again, and to further frustrate them, the venue again was changed to Victory College, Ikare-Akoko, again without proper notification. They scrambled and made it right on time as the game plan was for them to miss the primaries and registered as absent. But they all made it to the third location.
It was at Victory College, Ikare-Akoko that the final assault on democracy took place, where all rules and procedures were openly violated. To add to the intimidation, and the violation of the fundamental human rights of the aspirants, they were manhandled by security forces violently for no apparent reason.
Firstly, nepotism coupled with conflict of interest and outright corruption by some few bad eggs started to take shape at the venue all to favour one aspirant. What happened which is fully explained below should not be allowed to destroy APC, and or this government, that is trying, and working to build a country we can all be proud of.
Basic rules of primary election, contained in the constitution, as well as APC charter, were not followed. Delegates selected initially were changed at the venue, all aspirants were allowed to enter the venue with two individuals but like a movie from era of John Gotti of New York Mafia, the aspirant favoured came to the venue with a huge crowd minutes before primaries started and the aspirants were told that they were the new delegates (those that entered the venue with favoured corrupt aspirant) even as officials of APC and INEC present said nothing about the illegality of changing delegates minutes to the primaries.
Security forces were used to intimidate people and aspirants, there are videos. They came with the favoured aspirant running the show like his own self-control activity, they terrorised aspirants with weapons as if it’s a war zone when everyone was peacefully sitting down in dismay and unable to comprehend what was happening.
The security forces were even used as part of intimidation to arrest one of the aspirants for no apparent reason, taken to Police Station in Akure before being released without charge because he did nothing wrong. It was just to intimate everyone into fear of taking the illegality being done openly. Delegates were changed on the spot without informing the other 8 aspirants.
INEC officials were housed and hosted by the financier (proxy aspirant) of the preferred aspirant.
No primary was held.
Names were openly written at the venue and accepted as delegates.
The delegation lists that APC asked all aspirants to submit were just discarded, in favour of the list put together for the favoured aspirant.
These delegates filled the delegates form at the venue in front of the other 8 aspirants under supervision of the 9th aspirant all INEC and APC officials and observers were bowing to. These aspirants he brought were the ones who supposedly voted result was just written that favored aspirant running the show scored 105 votes while others got one vote. Not even mentioning who among others got the one vote.
The so-called primary was a complete charade, a total disgrace, and contrary to the rules, and a big set-back to the democratic efforts we have been labouring to put together for decades.
This cannot be allowed to stand.
Otherwise, democracy will die in our country. APC must act at the national level, the President should look into this for the sake of democracy and good people of Akoko North East/North West. There are pictures and videos of all these injustice and intimidation that led to selection rather than election in the primary held on January 6, 2024 in Ondo State.
Democracy is under brutal assault which is not the direction that this President is steering the country. People in this federal constituency are witnesses to this charade. Keeping quiet amount to complicity. We all have obligation to tell the truth to the world if we want to sustain our democracy.
* Dr. Shagari is a political observer and activist for a better Nigeria.
