The APC primary for Cross River Central was rejected by two prominent All Progressives Congress candidates, who claim it was rigged to disenfranchise thousands of party members from the 66 wards of the senatorial district and install a favored candidate.
Speaking to a gathering of supporters in Ikom, Senators Eteng Jonas Williams and Mary Ekpere urged for the immediate cancelation of the primary, which they described as “flawed and illegitimate.”
“The procedure was flawed from the beginning,” Eteng stated. He charged party officials with utilizing an unapproved panel that was “deliberately constituted to influence the outcome” and with hiding electoral materials.
Eteng claims that when supporters showed up to ward and local government collation centers, the spaces were empty. He said that voting locations were abruptly altered over night.
He declared, “This was a deliberate attempt by powerful individuals within the party to stifle participation and impose a predetermined outcome.”
In an attempt to exclude her from the competition, Ekpere claimed that her name was covertly transferred from the Cross River Central list to the Cross River North list.
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She said that the state chapter took such action in order to make room for a state government approved candidate.
Both candidates claimed that the APC national secretariat, which had excluded Oden Ewa due to clearance concerns and mandated that the results be transmitted to Abuja for certification, had issued a direct instruction that the primary had disregarded.
“We are all APC members who worked for the party’s survival during its challenging years,” Ekpere stated. It is wrong that Oden Ewa received preferential treatment in spite of his disqualification. Governor Otu must prevent the party from being undermined by selfish interests.
At the gathering, supporters cautioned that if the grievances are ignored, the party may become divided before the general elections. They called on the national leadership of the APC to step in, enforce rules, and reinstate internal democracy.
One speaker stated, “Any perceived compromise of party supremacy could trigger protest votes and weaken the party’s electoral chances.”
The accusations have not yet received a response from the state chapter of the APC. Regarding the demand for cancellation, the national secretariat has likewise remained silent.
