Five All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirants for Taraba State have described the planned party primary election scheduled to hold today as illegal.
The aspirants: Senaor Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, Dr Anthony Manzo, Hon Saleh Mamam Chief David Sabo Kente and Hon Danladi Kifasi stated their position while addressing newsmen yesterday. They also vowed not to be part of the APC National Working Committee’s plan to conduct fresh primaries for them.
Speaking on behalf of others, Senator Yusuf said they were forced to convene the news conference to let the world know what was happening in Taraba APC and what the National Chairman of the party, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and others were doing to destroy the APC in Taraba State.
‘’This important press briefing is imperative because it has to do with the flagrant disobedience to a Supreme Court judgment, and as we all know, it is the apex court of our land.
‘’For the purpose of refreshing our memories, the race to clinch the APC Gubernatorial ticket started in 2022 with seven aspirants who all obtained the party‘s expression of interest and nomination form.
‘’On the day of the primaries, while all aspirants and delegates had an unresolved meeting at Shield Hotel Jalingo, for security concerns, the chairman of the committee, Mr Lawrence Onochukwu, was taken to the Police Headquarters in Jalingo for safety.
‘’While there, on seeing social media photos of fake direct primary elections in some parts of the state, Onochukwu held a news conference that he never authorised any primary and that elections will be held the next day after sorting out all the issues,’’ Sabo-Kente said.
According to him, all the aspirants, with the exception of Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha woke up the next morning to see amateur videos and also read in the media that chairman of the committee has announced Bwacha as winner of the Taraba APC gubernatorial primaries.
‘’After sorting out all the internal mechanisms within the party to arrest the situation, no effort was made by the party to do the right thing, hence the need for legal action against the party and the acclaimed winner of the primary.
‘’The legal action ended at the apex court, and we were vindicated that truly there was no gubernatorial primary in Taraba APC.
‘’Before the case reached the Apex court, one from the six aggrieved aspirants that bought form left for NNPP due to lack of transparency and impunity in APC, but we, the remaining five aggrieved aspirants decided not to leave our house for intruders, rather to stay and fight for our right and to protect democracy,’’ the aspirants said.
They condemned the decision of the party following the Supreme Court judgment on Feb. 1, that voided the purported APC gubernatorial primary in Taraba State that produced Bwacha.
‘’The National working committee of the party, under the leadership of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, did not covene any meeting with the aspirants, whether physically or virtually for any briefing.
‘’Rather, today, Feb. 9, 2023, a text message was sent to us, followed by social media reports that a primary is scheduled to be held at Mumuye Hall, Mile 6 Jalingo tomorrow, Feb. 10.
‘’This is a total and flagrant disobedience of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of David Sabo Kente vs Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha.
‘’For the avoidance of doubt, the apex court did not at any time order for another primary after it voided the acclaimed primary that brought Sen Bwacha.
‘’It might interest everyone to know that the apex court granted all the reliefs sought in the trial court by David Sabo Kente, except for a rescheduled primary within 14 days,’’ the APC Taraba leaders said.
According to them, they are law abiding Nigerians and loyal party men, and so will not be part of any illegality.
‘’The primary scheduled for tomorrow in Mumuye Hall Mile 6 Jalingo, Taraba State, is in total violation of the Supreme Court judgment as delivered unanimously by the five panel of judges led by Hon Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
‘’The question is, are the national chairman of APC, Bwacha and their cronies, trying to act superior on the Supreme Court of Nigeria?
‘’We have it from the grapevine that a retired general will be heading the committee that will conduct the illegal primary, and to be assisted with other retired military personnel.
