Kogi Central APC senatorial aspirant alleges sham election, rejects result

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

An All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial district, Rahamatu Sheu Atttah, on Tuesday, rejected the conduct and outcome of the primary elections conducted on May 28.

Her rejection was conveyed in a press statement on Tuesday, where she noted that there was no election in the district, as such no candidate emerged as a winner.

Spokesman to the Senatorial aspirant, Yusuf Adeku Abdulkadir, said what happened on May 28, was just a predetermined selection of Abubakar Sadiq Ohere and not an election as being said in some quarters.

Atta insisted that due process was not followed as there was no accreditation of delegates as required by the Electoral Act, adding that when they requested the reason why they were not accredited, delegates were informed that they have been accredited by their respective local government chairmen.

“We were still in shock that Alhaji Yahaya Karaku was the Returning Officer contrary to APC guidelines. This is a gross aberration of the rule,” he said.

Atta further alleged that a female delegate single-handedly voted on behalf of other delegates by writing the name of Ohere on the ballot papers as the preferred candidate.

He said they objected to it, but were ignored despite their insistence that due process must be followed and that the guidelines must be complied with, they failed and refused to acknowledge our protests.

Attah who stated that they decided to walk out of the hall after their pleas were ignored, said attempts to resolve the matter by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee from the APC headquarters in Abuja, were frustrated.

“While the process of mediation was ongoing, the Returning Officer and all other political appointees there present were impatient.

“They again commenced voting without waiting for a resolution, this time in a more disorganised manner

“Only for us to read in social media some fictitious and laughable result with imaginary votes allotted to us,” he explained.

She called for immediate cancellation of the primary election due to flagrant irregularities, disregard for the provisions of the Electoral Act and non-compliance with guidelines.

Atta said with the evidence adduced above, the election cannot and should not be allowed to stand for the sake of justice and fairness.

He said the APC should be prepared to conduct a fresh primary in the Kogi Central Senatorial district, insisting that the one claimed to have been held on May 28 was a complete sham and an embarrassment to the party.