Rigging allegations rock Lagos APC as group demands cancellation of ‘sham’ LG primary

A group known as Egbe Alatunto says some powerful individuals in the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are plotting to impose their candidates in the local government election.

In a statement on Friday, Niyi Akinsiju, coordinator of the group, said the party had concluded plans to hold a “sham” primary election at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Onikan.

Akinsiju rejected the security reason given by party executives in the state as to why the election could not hold in the local government areas of the state.

He said it was only the police who could declare a venue not insecure

Akinsiju said with less than 48 hours to the election, the delegates who would be voting were not known.

While calling for the cancellation of the election, the coordinator said expressed dissatisfaction with the “brazen circumvention of the democratic process” in the announced arrangements for the hosting of the primary election.

“As active members of the party, committed to be part of the processes of the emergence of political managers of our local government area which we verily believe will guarantee good governance and the enjoyment of the dividends of democracy, we demand the cancellation of this obviously arranged primary for chairman aspirants of local government areas billed for the Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere,” the statement read.

“We contest the reason being peddled for holding the primary in the Teslim Balogun Stadium on the excuse of the need to ensure a peaceful and non-violent exercise as not tenable.

“The only authority that is constitutionally empowered to declare a space unsecured is the Nigerian Police Force. The organisers of this primaries have not told us that they received a report from the police.

“The question then is if councillorship primaries can be held in wards, what made chairmanship primaries so dangerous that it can’t be held within the local government area as required by law?

“A condition precedent to organising primary is the public circulation of the list of delegates, in the present circumstance, less than 48 hours to the so-called primaries, none of the aspirants knows the delegates that would be voting.

“It is apparent that the powers that be in the Lagos APC are merely working to a pre-determined objective of declaring their preferred candidate in each LGA and merely using the excuse of this sham primary to be held in a Stadium as a veil to justify the emasculation of the democratic process as enshrined in the constitutions of the federal republic of Nigeria and of the APC.”

He said that it was a ploy to disenfranchise as many of the delegates as possible and announce pre-determined results.

“This being the rationale behind the directive  disallowing people to bring in their phones to record any eventuality that may happen at the venue,” Akinsiju said.

“Let it also be on record that if this is allowed, no expectation of fairness should be expected at the general election as most members of the state electoral commission are from the All Progressives Congress.”

In a letter dated May 22, Muiz Banire, national legal adviser of the APC, advised the state executive of p the rty against holding the primary election in a central place.

He said according to the constitution, electoral act and the party’s constitution, the election should be held at the designated venue in the local government area.