Alleging malpractices, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has rejected last weekend’s All Progressive Congress (APC) Primary election for Niger North Senatorial District which produced sitting governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.
Sabi described the exercise as a complete violation of the guidelines and procedures for the conduct of the party primaries and the electoral act 2022 and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a five page letter of petition to the Chairman, APC Legislative Election Appeal Committee for Niger North Senatorial District, called for the cancellation of the primary election which he claimed, was heavily manipulated and forceful usurpation of the people’s mandate.
He called for a legal, free and fair primary election where the will of the people will not be coerced nor manipulated but freely conducted in line with the party guidelines and procedures.
According to him, what transpired last Saturday was an “inglorious and shameful charade”, to force a sitting governor on the people.
As he put it, the entire process from accreditation of delegates to voting was allegedly hijacked by the member, representing Kontagora/Mariga/Magama/Wushishi Federal Constituency, Alhaji Abdullahi Idris Garba, who had no business in senatorial primary election.
He lamented the role of the Chairman of the APC primary Election Committee for Niger state, Dr. Ray Murphy, who had earlier told him on phone that due to time constraints, it was not possible to hold a joint stakeholders and aspirants meeting before the election.
He alleged that the verification and accreditation of delegates were done in the private residence of a federal lawmaker instead of the official venue, the Teachers House in Kontagora.
“This made it impossible for other delegates they perceived not to do their bidding to be accredited”, the petitioner alleged.
Senator Sabi also alleged that the delegates list that was used in the House of Representatives and State Assembly primaries elections was changed during the Senatorial primary.
“New names were called to replace these legally recognized local government delegates, a clear contravention of section 115(1)(a)and 119(1)(e) and (f) of the electoral Act.
“Some delegates were invited to the private residence of the Federal lawmaker, and the event at the private residence turned out to be an official process of harassment, intimidation, threats, hijack/kidnapping of delegates who were serially threatened by the security details of the State Governor and an aspirant in the Senatorial election, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello”.
According to him, “the residence played host to the State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the Department of the State Security, Niger State and all other state government functionaries in a deliberate show of force over the delegates.
“The delegates they held there were issued tags suggesting that they have been verified and accredited, and ready to vote even when we thought we were still waiting for the arrival of election materials, including tags”.
All these were done without the presence of his agent, Hon. Mohammed Garba Danladi, he said.
Senator Sabi further alleged that all the tags that were given to the delegates at the private residence of the federal lawmaker which was turned to accreditation center, had the name and picture of the state governor on them.
“We later learned that the 10 member local organizing committee headed the state organizing secretary of the party, Alhaji Musa Fasasi, headed straight to the residence of the lawmaker where all the schemes and emasculation of the entire process was hatched and subsequently executed”, he added.
