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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Two aspirants in the All Progressives Congress, Senator Eteng Jonas Williams and Mary Ekpere have rejected the APC primary for Cross River Central, alleging the exercise was rigged to install a preferred candidate and disenfranchise thousands of party members across the 66 wards of the senatorial district.
The duo addressed supporters in Ikom and demanded the immediate cancellation of what they called “flawed and illegitimate” primary held earlier that day.
He said no primary election was held in the area and that any result being released was baseless.
He urged the national leadership of the party to look at the conduct of the exercise in the interest of internal democracy and good conscience.
“No voting took place in the 66 wards of the senatorial district, we went round the entire district.
“There were also no party officials to conduct the election, we kept waiting to exercise our franchise until about 8pm.
“So I ask, if officials were not there, and elections did not hold, how did they get results?” he asked
The senator urged party faithful to discountenance the information that somebody had been declared winner from the process.
Williams described the election as a contest and an opportunity for politicians to test their popularity and acceptability by the people.
“What we see today is desperation. People want to become leaders through the backdoor,” he said.
He said that as an aspirant, no party official on primary election duty contacted him to provide his agents.
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“Our party should ensure that the right thing is done. This is how we can keep the integrity of the party afloat. The process was compromised from the start,” Williams said.
He accused party officials of withholding electoral materials and using an unauthorised panel “deliberately constituted to influence the outcome.”
According to him, supporters arrived at ward and local government collation centres only to find empty venues. Voting locations, he said, were changed overnight without notice.
“This was a calculated attempt by influential figures within the party to suppress participation and impose a predetermined outcome,” he said.
Ekpere said her name was quietly removed from the Cross River Central list and moved to Cross River North in a move to sideline her from the contest.
“That action was taken by the state chapter to clear the path for a preferred candidate of the state government,” she alleged.
Both aspirants said the primary violated a direct directive from the APC national secretariat, which they claim had barred Oden Ewa over clearance issues and ordered that all results be sent to Abuja for ratification.
“We are all members of the APC, who worked for the survival of the party during its difficult years,” Ekpere said. “The selective treatment given to Oden Ewa despite his disqualification is unacceptable. Governor Otu should not allow selfish interests to undermine the party.”
Supporters at the rally warned that ignoring the complaints could split the party ahead of the general elections. They urged the APC national leadership to intervene, impose discipline and restore internal democracy.
“Any perceived compromise of party supremacy could trigger protest votes and weaken the party’s electoral chances,” one speaker said.
The APC state chapter has not yet responded to the allegations. The national secretariat has also not commented on the demand for cancellation.
