Akwa Ibom delegates protest at APC presidential primary over exclusion from accreditation

Some delegates from Akwa Ibom, on Tuesday, protested at the special convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

The primary election, where a presidential candidate of the APC is expected to be elected, is underway at the Eagle Square in the nation’s capital.

Delegates who are expected to vote at the primary election are first accredited at a section designed for that purpose before they can make their way to the voting centre.

But some delegates from Akwa Ibom said they are being excluded from the exercise. 

Speaking on the development, one of the protesters said the accreditation for delegates from Akwa Ibom was halted over a court order presented by the accreditation officer.

“We came here since morning for accreditation. Over seven hours now, nothing is happening. So we saw a guy here with a court order when we wanted to start accreditation,” he said.

“When he brought the court order, instead of giving it to the chairman, he gave a different person and he said they should stop the accreditation.

“Nobody saw the content of the court order, but they said it’s a court order. He didn’t read it but said it’s a court order for us to stop accreditation.

“If there is an issue, before you give people a court order, you must read for everyone to know who brought the court order.”

Last week, some APC members in Akwa Ibom kicked against the delegates’ list sent to the party’s headquarters.

Don Etiebet, former minister of petroleum, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said the list was manipulated.