The Senator representing Kwara Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, Dr. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, has accused governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of manipulating the recently concluded party primaries in their favour.
The Ssnator also claimed that 17 delegates whom he gave money for logistics during the APC primary election in his senatorial district, refunded his money.
Oloriegbe, who failed to secure a return ticket having came a distant third in the primary election, decried the way and manner the APC’s shadow elections were conducted in most states of the federation.
The lawmaker lost the senatorial ticket to a former APC national chsirmanship aspirant and Turaki of Ilorin Emirate, Malam Saliu Mustapha.
Mustapha scored 136 votes, a business mogul, Yahaya Seriki scored 78 votes while Oloriegbe scored only 15 votes in the primary election.
Upon the announcement of the primary election results, Oloriegbe, in a widely circulated statement congratulated the winner, Mustapha.
“With gratitude to Almighty Allah for His blessings and mercy upon me, I wish to state that I fully accept the events and outcome of the primaries that held yesterday as the Will of Allah.
“I congratulate my brother, Mallam Saliu Mustapha on his victory and wish him success at the main election next year. I also Congratulate Amb. Abdufatai Yahaya Seriki for being a team player. I thank the leader of the party in the state, His Excellency Mallam Abdulrahaman Abdulrasaq for his cooperation and support to me in the discharge of my duties. I thank the party leaders, elders and stalwarts for their cooperation and support and belief in what we are doing,” Oloriegbe had said in the statement.
But while featuring on Channels Television’s breakfast show, ‘Sunrise Daily’ on Wednesday, Oloriegbe condemned the conduct of the primary election in his senatorial district.
The Ilorin-born lawmaker accused APC governors of imposing delegates on party supporters.
“There was no congress; like in my state, the governor just handpicked them (the delegates) one night and said we have done primaries and the list came. So, you don’t even know who the delegates are … and this happened in several states.
“Even where people are selected, they should be given the freedom to exercise their franchise by voting for who they want, but it was not like that. The governors selected those to whom they would give instructions and some of them took an oath to vote where the governors direct them … and this was what happened in Kwara State.
“In my own election (primary), 17 delegates came back to give me money which I gave them for logistics; others did not because they said ‘we wanted to vote for you, but we are not allowed to vote’. There was one of my colleagues in Kogi who mentioned that people came back (to return his money),” Oloriegbe lamented.
