C’River aspirants reject APC House of Reps primary over irregularities

Aspirants alleging irregularities have rejected results of All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal House of Representatives primary in Cross River State. The federal constituencies affected are the Ikom/Boki and Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi.

The Commissioner for Works in Cross River State, Mr. Dan Osim Asu, in an interview with some newsmen in Calabar, yesterday, disassociated himself from the primary in Ikom, saying if an urgent apology was not tendered to him, he would seek legal redress.

The primary was earlier scheduled for Friday last week but could not hold and was rescheduled for Saturday, but again it could not hold due to protest by aspirants over delegates list and consensus.

Worried by the development, the Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Mr. Erasmus Ekpang, in a statement, said: “Arising from the security breach that disrupted Saturday’s Ikom/Boki Federal Constituency primary election of the party and the aftermath of the meeting with aspirants and His Excellency, Ben Ayade, towards consensus building, pursuant to the need to comply with S.84 (9) (10) of the Electoral Act 2022, the party has directed that primary election be rescheduled for May 30, 2022 at Ikom council hall”.

Reacting to the schedule poll, Asu, who is not happy with the entire process, said: “How can you say I participated and lost? There is no way anybody can put me there that I participated and lost when I was not there and my agents were not there. They allocated 24 votes to me and 84 votes to the purported winner. They should have gone ahead and did their allocation or affirmation without putting my name.

“I kept quiet and accepted the consensus arrangement by the governor in good faith. I came back to my house in Calabar and kept quiet. They should have gone ahead to do their affirmation without putting my name and embarrassing me and since I was not there, my name should not have appeared on the result sheet. It’s vote allocation and will not accept my name to be used that way.”

In Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi Federal Constituency, the former Commissioner for Transport and Marine, Mr. Saviour Nyong, also rejected the primary held at the Cultural Centre that produced the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Joseph Bassey, as candidate.

Nyong said election materials were hijacked and the process hurriedly done without delegates and INEC officials. He called for the cancellation of the primary and the conduct of a new one.