Five APC Taraba guber aspirants vow to boycott scheduled primary

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Five APC Taraba guber aspirants vow to boycott scheduled primary

FIVE gubernatorial aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Taraba state have described as illegal the party’s primary election scheduled to hold on Friday.

The aspirants are: Sen Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf; Sen. Dr Anthony Manzo; Hon Saleh Mamam;

Chief David Sabo Kente and Hon Danladi Kifasi.

They, therefore, vowed not to be part of the APC National Working Committee, NWC.

The five APC gubernatorial aspirants made their position known in a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of others, a frontline lawmaker Sen Yusuf Abubakar 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 the Chairman of the committee has announced Bwacha as winner of the Taraba APC gubernatorial primaries.

”A primary that was never held. 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 Emmanuel 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 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, Emmanuel Bwacha and their cronies, trying to act superior to the Supreme Court of Nigeria?

”We are saying all these because with the happenings in Taraba State, APC as orchestrated by the National Working Committee, the national Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha are orchestrating a dubious plan otherwise the national chairman has no reason to ignore or disobey the Supreme Court judgment which is the apex court ,all in a bid to do the bidding of a particular aspirant to the detriment of the other aspirants and the party at large.

”This pact between the National chairman and Sen Emmanuel Bwacha is something APC members must find out and even Nigerians at large.

”Once again we want to let all party faithful know that whatever illegally that is about to be perpetuated in Mumuye hall Jalingo tomorrow will be challenged in competent courts of our land,” the APC Gubernatorial Aspirants said.