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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Two aspirants in the just concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives primaries for the Otukpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency in Benue State, Mr. Lawrence Onoja and Mr. Andrew Abu, have rejected the outcome of the exercise, alleging widespread irregularities and warning that the party could suffer defeat in the 2027 general elections if the issues were not addressed.
The aggrieved aspirants described the primary election as fraudulent and accused party leaders of undermining democratic processes through what they termed ‘illegal selection’ instead of a credible primary.
The two aspirants gave the warning while speaking with newsmen at the APC secretariat in Makurdi, shortly after submitting their petition against the exercise.
Abu condemned the conduct of the primary, alleging that election materials were diverted and results manipulated in favour of the declared winner.
He said: “Some people think they are too powerful, so they absconded with materials to a hotel while our supporters were waiting eagerly for the primaries to take place.
“My appeal to the national leadership of the party and Mr. President is that we cannot condone this injustice.
“The seat should be rotated and we have a general election ahead. If the party is not careful, it may suffer defeat. They should address this anomaly because, as far as I am concerned, there was no primary election but an illegal selection in Otukpo/Ohimini Federal Constituency.”
Also speaking, Onoja, son of retired General Lawrence Onoja, also faulted the process, alleging that election materials were taken to Ochacho Hotel in Otukpo, where results were allegedly written and allocated to each contestant.
“Zoning has always existed in the constituency. There have been two terms for Ohimini and two for Otukpo. Otukpo is finishing its second term, but unfortunately, the incumbent is someone who has been boasting that she has the money to buy it all, and to a large extent, she has succeeded,” Onoja alleged.
He claimed that no accreditation of party members or agents took place on the day of the election, insisting that election materials never reached the wards.
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He said: “Blessing Onuh went to Ochacho Hotel, Room 006, to be precise, where they sat and wrote all the results. She claimed I scored 925 votes, whereas during the mock election in my ward, where materials did not even arrive, I scored more than that.”
Onoja also questioned the authenticity of the figures announced, alleging that the declared votes exceeded the number of registered party members in the constituency.
“She gave herself 17,000 votes, but records show that the total number of registered voters in both Otukpo and Ohimini is slightly above 15,000. So, how did she score 17,000?”
The APC chieftain maintained that party supporters in the constituency were angry over the outcome and warned that the party risked alienating its grassroots supporters if justice was not done.
“So, I am here to state categorically that there were no primaries in Otukpo/Ohimini. No material was taken to the local governments. We are bitter and insist that the party’s internal processes should be adhered to.
“I have been a party man for 27 years and a member of APC since its inception, so we expect the party hierarchy to call me if such a thing happened but to allow such a fraudulent thing to take place is very ‘callous’ and ‘unfortunate.
“The electorates are angry and there were protests in Otukpo, insisting that it should be Ohimini’s turn. If Blessing is to be compensated, they can give her another position like minister or senator, but what is rotated should not be shortchanged,” he added.
“I have submitted my petition and I’m hoping that justice will be served. It is a gross misconduct and violation of the party and INEC regulations.
“Announcing results in a private place is wrong. We appeal to the national secretariat to take this as a very serious issue. If zoning is applied in some cases, it should also apply in another,” he insisted.
Both aspirants said they had formally petitioned the party leadership and expressed hope that the APC national secretariat would intervene and ensure justice in line with the party’s constitution and INEC guidelines.
