A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) and one of the top contenders in the Edo governorship race, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor is demanding for the cancellation of last Saturday’s primary election which has so far produced three gubernatorial flag bearers.
Osunbor, a former governor of the state has also called on President Bola Tinubu to wade into the controversies surrounding the flawed primary election and save APC from the looming crisis
Addressing a press conference in the wake of the confusion that trailed the primary election, Osunbor chronicled what transpired last Saturday declaring that all registered members of APC across Edo state came out to vote for their preferred candidate for the September 21 governorship election.
Osunbor alleged that the said election did not take place anywhere across the 18 Local Government areas of Edo State.
“The party officials deployed from the Abuja office of the National Organising Secretary to conduct the elections at the various wards and Local Government areas of Edo State were kept in hotels in Benin.
“There is no record or video of any of them performing their assigned roles in the election at their respective designated points
Specifically, in my own Ward 6 of Esan LGA, where over 200 members assembled and were eagerly waiting, no electoral official of the party turned up.
“In fact, there was no election anywhere in Esan West and other LGAs including Akoko-Edo and Etsako West. I was aghast and in disbelief when I saw a video of the purported result of the Esan West election being announced by a lady said to be a returning officer.
“What we saw on television was not the result of the election but the allocation of votes by some persons in Benin to each of the aspirants.
“In the end, two candidates have been announced as winners. Sen. Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Denis Idahosa in a primary election that was never held or was not conducted in accordance with the law and guidelines.
“This charade confirms the widespread suspicion that there is a deliberate plan by some people to create crises in Edo state APC, instigate bitterness among the members and set the public against the party in order to aid the victory of the presumed PDP candidate,” he said.
Osunbor said that those behind the charade were plotting to present a weak APC candidate who would be easily overrun and defeated by the candidate of the PDP during the election. According to him, those behind the plot are not working in the interest of APC but of PDP.
He said that in order to avoid a repeat of the scenario which led to the defeat of APC in 2020, President Bola Tinubu should order an investigation into the allegation that this sham of a primary election.
“He said that the crisis generated by the primary was an indication that some people within the APC have been induced by gratification to pave the way for the emergence of the PDP candidate in the election.
He said that with the claim by as many as four aspirants that they won the race, the primary election cannot stand the test of legal scrutiny but rather will jeopardize the chances of APC.
Osunbor urged the party to order another primary election to be conducted ahead of the 24th February deadline set by INEC and a new set of officers should be assigned to conduct the fresh primaries.