Violence has erupted at the All Progressive Congress (APC)
primary election holding at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, to
select Local Government chairmanship candidates.
Fight broke out in different corners, minutes after the
Party’s electoral chairman, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi began to announce
“consensus” candidates already endorsed by the party.
Supporters of aspirants who lost out got violent and moved
toward supporters of those being declared as winner.
Broken bottles, plastic chairs, woods, stones, bottle water
and sachet water were some of the weapons used to chase VIP delegates and other
supporters out of the venue.
Recall that National Legal Adviser of the APC, Dr Muiz
Banire, had raised alarm that the process of
primaries was being manipulated
through rigging “in favour of certain imposed candidates”.
Banire had also opposed the decision of the Lagos State
chapter to conduct primaries election for all the aspirants in a single
location.
He lamented that the decision was alien to the party and not
in the APC constitution, warning against the holding the exercise in such
manner.
In a letter addressed to the State Chairman, Henry Ajomale,
Banire stressed that the Local Government Executives were empowered by the APC
constitution to designate suitable venues for the exercise.
He said, “As the custodian of the party constitution, It is
of utmost necessity for me to say immediately that this will not be in
consonant with the letter and the spirit of the constitution.
“The (APC) constitution confers the power to designate the
venue of such council primaries in the party Executive of the Local
Government”.
Banire said in other states, local government primary
nelections were never done in centralized locations including Benue State
chapter of the APC that recently held its primaries.
He therefore asked the state chairman to comply with the
provision of the APC constitution by stopping all arrangements for tomorrow’s
centralised primaries and allowed the local government executives to designate
venue for the exercise in their respective councils.
The APC legal adviser continued: “I must say that I do not
want to believe that the essence of seeking to centralize the conduct of the
primaries is to manipulate and rig the process in favour of certain imposed
candidates.
“To avoid this, and in line with our great party’s practice
of publicizing the conduct of primaries (right from the conduct of primary for
presidential election to the primaries for election at the state level –
gubernatorial and National assembly), the same tradition must continue with the
primaries into local governments.
“I am also aware that the National body is sending monitors
while observers are expected at the various venues.
“I urge transparency and fairness in the conduct of the
primaries. It is necessary to avoid any exercise in futility”.
By Wale Odunsi
