1 October 2018
HUNDREDS of angry members of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Cross River State on Sunday protested the non conduct of the party’s governorship primaries for the election of a flag bearer to contest the gubernatorial polls following the disappearance of the election materials and members of the electoral committee assigned to conduct the election In the state.
The members carrying placards with various messages like, “stop the manipulation”, "We want free and fair election process” , ‘Be careful what you do, APC is a party of change” called for the conduct of a free and fair primary to give every contestant a sense of belonging.
Elder David Okon the leader of the party in the southern district of the state, Professor Eyo Etim Nyong and Chief Edem Duke who addressed the protesting members called on the National Chairman of the party to ensure that the name of the party is not dragged in the mud by some persons who are bent on manipulating the process for the emergence of a governorship candidate for the party to contest the governor election in 2019.
"Today, some people are trying to take the party back to Egypt and to us the real progressives are not happy with what is happening because we are drifting to calamity”.
He warned that the party would suffer protest votes from members in 2019 if a free and fair primary is not conducted for the emergence of a candidate.
“Up till now we do not know if the committee that is sent to handle the exercise is in the state or not. A situation where a group of party officials are asked to endorse one aspirant will tear the party apart.
“Today we are only thinking of the primary which is just a prelude to the main event which is the general election and if you chose imposition, what you are inviting is chaos, votes that would go to the party would instead go to another party and to me the leadership of this party will not be able to control it that is why we call on the chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomole to as a matter of urgency wade into the matter” Elder Okon stated.
He said President Mohammadu Buhari has invested so much in the state with key appointments to indigenes of the state and going by what he calls the poor performance of Senator Ben Ayade, the state would have easily been won by the APC with ease but any imposition would destroy the expected victory.
Professor Eyo, Etim Nyong who is one of the governorship aspirants said the exercise should be conducted for every party member to participate to make itr credible and not hijacked by a few persons .
“We hear the materials and the Committee which were supposed to be at the party’s secretariat were taken to a hotel and I question the rationale for such an action so let me call on the National Chairman of the party to assign another electoral committee to conduct the governorship primary in the state”.
He said the party cannot afford to collect money from them for forms and have them screened and clared to contest the election only to adopt one aspirant for the race.
