Despite the promise of a level playing ground in the All Progressives Congress Senatorial Election in Kogi East, officials of Kogi state government has been deployed to ensure the triumph of a particular aspirant anointed by the Kogi state government.
This overbearing interest of the state government in the primary election has resulted to open threat, harassment and intimidation of delegates / party executives by officials of the state government.
These officials are working for the state government and are protecting the interest of the governor’s anointed candidate while the Local Government Administrators are part of the conspiracy in transporting delegates for the anointed candidate.
It is no longer a secret affair as delegates are openly warned to be ready to face the consequences if at all they cast votes in favor of Prince Yahaya Audu against the state government anointed candidate.
Meanwhile, political thugs are being deployed within and outside the senatorial district to cause chaos and disrupt the process while Prince Yahaya Audu is being threatened to quit the race.
What is happening in Kogi state at the moment is not only undemocratic but a complete distraction and rape of internal democracy which is contrary to the philosophy of the All Progressives Congress.
The government preferred candidate is from a Local Government that has produced senators for 12 years with their 1st, 2nd and 3rd terms fully exhausted against a Local Government Area that has produced none till date.
The government arrangement is contrary to the existing rotational order in Kogi East Senatorial District. It is also against the principle of Federal Character is geo political spread and rotation of offices to ensure balance within the constituency as provided by the constitution of the All Progressives Congress.
We want to call on the Presidency, the National Chairman of APC the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, all security agencies and the international community to step in and save democracy in Kogi state. We call on the leadership of the APC to deploy all necessary apparatus to avert chaos and ensure a peaceful, fair, credible and transparent process which his Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi state has promised on several occasion.
It has also been brought to our notice that the name of the government sponsored aspirant has been printed at the back of the delegate tag to enable delegates vote only Alhaji Jibrin Isah which is a violation of the electoral process amounting to conspiracy.
– Emmanuel Ekele
Director General, Prince Yahaya Audu Campaign Organisation
