Primaries: 110 Bauchi State assembly aspirants set to dump APC

No fewer than 110 aspirants of All Progressives Congress (APC) for 2019 Bauchi State House of Assembly (BAHA) have threatened to dump the party in the state if the National leadership of the party failed to cancel the recent primary election conducted in the state or compensate them.

Addressing newsmen yesterday in Bauchi, Chairman, Forum of Bauchi State House of Assembly Aspirants (BAHA 2019), Engr Saidu Sulaiman Darazo said that if the party turned deaf ears to their demands within 72 hours, they would be forced to take an action not suitable for the party.

Engr Saidu stressed that, “no primary election for state house of Assembly took place in any voting centre in Bauchi State, neither was a consensus reached by the aspirants but what Prof Ahmed Bakori and the government did was a select or appoint kind of thing and we are saying no to it”.

He said: “We were deceived into believing that there was going to be a level playing ground for all party members who aspire for any elective position but what happened at the end is to write names and submit, no election.

The group lamented that after spending huge sums of money on campaigns and forms, at the end Prof Bakori disappointed them. He knows very well that election did not took place but he went ahead to announce the result, we wonder where he got his Professor from.”

He alleged that the electoral officials dispersed into unknown locations where they had photocopies of the score sheets and conducted their own election and entered the results on their original score sheets on the same fateful night of Friday last week.

He also alleged that, election materials were secretly distributed to selected loyalists of the party officials on Thursday night, 4th October 2019, without the knowledge or presences of the aspirants or their agents.

The Chairman said as a matter of urgency, the National leadership of the party should reject any list of contestants for Bauchi State House of Assembly submitted by the electoral committee, as there was no primary election conducted or force them out.

He further called for the immediate conduct of the election or consensus in all the respective constituencies in Bauchi State house of Assembly constituencies.

“Effect the demands within 72 hours from the date of receipt of this letter. Failure of which necessary action would be taken. One hundred and thirty of us are members of this forum apart of the thirty one the committee hand-picked, but those championing this course we are 110 and that is our resolution. If you are not needed in your house you go somewhere else where you can find comfort”.

“We believe our great party, the APC was founded on the basis of fairness, justice and equity to members. These sterling qualities attracted many of us to join the party and aspire to be leaders in it but if all is missing we have to have a rethink”.