A concerned APC body known as the Kogi Mandate Group has urged the party’s National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu to disregard a purported delegates’ list sent to him for the November Kogi governorship election.
Kogi’s governorship election is coming up in November, as Gov. Yahaya Bello’s tenure ends on Jan. 27, 2024.
The political parties’ primaries come up in April ahead of the polls.
But the Group, through its solicitors, Atlanta Partners, based in Abuja, had in a letter dated Feb. 15 and made available to the media in Lokoja on Thursday, alleged that the list was allegedly concocted in Kogi Government House without following the due process specified in the Electoral Act
Mr. Promise Ogbodu, lead Counsel to the group, in the letter titled, “Complaint/appeal against the submission of purported delegates names/list in respect of Kogi Primary Election for 2023 Governorship election,” threatened to go to court if the right thing was not done by the state party leadership.
Ogbodu said, “We are Solicitors to Kogi Mandate Group and its leaders, Messrs Audu Sule, Isah Yahaya, and Ahmed Momoh, hereinafter referred to as our clients on whose instruction we write.”
He explained that the Kogi Mandate Group was an association of All Progressives Congress (APC) members spread across the three Senatorial Districts of Kogi, who have irrevocably committed themselves to market APC and its policies.
“Our clients, the leaders of Kogi Mandate Group are committed, loyal, and productive members of the party, APC, and are desirous of contesting delegates election in respect of the forthcoming governorship primary election in Kogi State.
The solicitors said their clients had information that while they and their members were eagerly and patiently waiting to contest for and serve the party as delegates in the forthcoming primary election for the 2023 governorship election in Kogi State, a purported delegates list for the primary had been submitted to the party.
According to the lawyer, this prompted the complaint/appeal for total rejection and/or cancellation of the list.
“At no time whatsoever was any information/notice of Congress at ward level or any other level for delegates election for Kogi State 2023 governorship primary election given to the members of the party, including our clients at any level.
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He said that not even at the stakeholders meeting of Feb. 6, at Kogi Government House, Lokoja, was any issue concerning or touching on delegates election for Kogi 2023 governorship primary election raised or discussed.
“At no time was the sale of forms and even the cost and venue of sale of forms for the delegates' election advertised by the party of any committee at any level (State, Local Government, and Ward) in Kogi State.
“The list of purported delegates submitted to the party for Kogi State 2023 governorship primary violates the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act which compels political parties, including APC, to ensure democratic emergence of delegates for primary elections, ” he said.
The lawyer described it as “very unfortunate” that stakeholders within the party who have given their all and sacrificed so much for the party have been shortchanged and deprived of their right to aspire to be delegated for the primary election.
He said: “It is in the best interest of the party to reject and/or cancel the sham list submitted to it, purportedly as a list of delegates for Kogi State 2023 governorship primary election.”
He advised the National Secretariat of the party under Adamu’s leadership to immediately extricate itself from “this web of manifest irregularities.
“It is our client's prayer that the purported delegates list be rejected and/or canceled in the interest of democracy, fairness, justice, and conduct of congress for the election of delegates and adequate notice of same given to the members of the party.
“We have our client’s firm instruction to proceed to the court of law and seek for justice/remedy in the event that the party fails to intervene by canceling/rejecting the purported delegates list within three days”.
Responding, the State Information Commissioner and Kogi APC Chairman, Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, defended the list as authentic.
Fanwo claimed delegate elections were held across the three Senatorial districts of the state and names of successful delegates were collected and sent to the national leadership of the party.
He described the Kogi mandate Group as disgruntled members seeking means of causing problems for the party in the state but “they won’t succeed in their bad attempt”.
