Obaro Rejects Kogi Central APC Primary, Demands Fresh Election

Kogi Central senatorial aspirant and Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United Kingdom, Chief Momoh Yusuf Obaro, has rejected the outcome of the party’s senatorial primary held on Monday, May 18, alleging widespread irregularities and procedural breaches.

In a petition addressed to the Chairman of the Kogi Central Primary Appeal Committee and copied to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, Obaro called for the cancellation of the exercise or his declaration as the authentic winner.

He described the primary as a “shadow poll” allegedly marred by violence, lack of stakeholder engagement, and the participation of an unqualified aspirant.

Obaro claimed that despite the alleged irregularities, his agents were able to collate what he described as the authentic results from the field.

According to him, the figures showed that he polled 44,270 votes, while his two opponents scored 20,092 and 1,985 votes respectively.

“We present these true figures herein and pray for the immediate nullification of the fraudulent results, a review of our evidence, and the recognition of the authentic democratic will of the Kogi Central electorate,” he stated.

He further alleged that former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, should not have participated in the exercise, insisting that he was not cleared by the party’s screening committee.

According to him, the inclusion of an allegedly uncleared aspirant undermined the credibility and legality of the entire process.

“Allowing an uncleared individual to participate actively compromises the legality of the entire primary and invalidates any numbers allocated to him,” the petition read.

Obaro also accused some returning officers of abandoning the collation process and later returning with what he described as “fabricated results.”

He urged the APC leadership to review photographic and video evidence attached to his petition, as well as police reports documenting alleged incidents of violence during the exercise.

He, therefore, appealed to the party’s NWC to either declare him the duly elected candidate for Kogi Central Senatorial District or order a fresh and transparent primary election supervised by a neutral committee and relevant security agencies.

“We trust in the commitment of the NWC to justice, internal party democracy, and the preservation of the integrity of our great party,” he added.