Controversy trails declaration of Abdulrazaq as Kwara APC guber candidate
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The declaration of Abdul Rahaman Abdulrasaq as gubernatorial candidate on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, has sparked controversy and protests.
Supporters of Shuib Abdullahi Yaman (one of those who contested the governorship primary of APC in the state) staged a protest at the party’s secretariat in Ilorin, claiming that from the available figures, Yaman was to be victorious.
The protesters alleged that the outcome of the gubernatorial primary election conducted in the state was manipulated in favour of anointed candidate, describing the gesture as a product of injustice.
In a letter to the National Working Committee of the APC, Bode Towoju, the director-general of Yaman Support Group, said agents and collation officers of his principal were threatened and treated unfairly.
“Our agents and collation officers were denied copies of the result sheet at the voting centres, although collation was done at the various wards and our agent reported the result to our central monitoring and situation centre for proper update of our records,” he said.
Towoju, who had earlier addressed journalists in Ilorin during a protest, revealed that the electoral panel that conducted the gubernatorial primary election discarded zoning and consensus arrangement as advocated by concerned foundation members of the party.
“It is the turn of the Kwara north to produce the next governor of the state in 2019 in the interest of fairness, equality, justice and togetherness.
“Members of APC in Kwara have spoken with one voice and have elected the candidate of their choice; so the mandate should be respected,” he added
The National Working Committee (NWC) of APC had on Monday made the declaration in a statement by its spokesperson, Yekini Nabena.
According to the statement, “Abdulrasaq polled 29,098 votes to defeat other aspirants. His closest opponent, Abdullahi Yaman, who was rumoured to have stepped down for Abdulrazaq during the primaries, scored 22,116 votes.
SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin