From Adedeji Joseph, Ilorin
Supporters of a governorship aspirant of the All Progressive Congress, (APC) Alhaji Yahaman Shuaib Abdullahi on Sunday staged a wild protest against the style of the national election committee who conducted the primary election.
They, among others, condemned witholding results of the election which was collated without the presence of candidates’ agents.
Meanwhile, two brothers seeking the APC ticket protested their disqualification midway into the election on Saturday.
The aspirants; Mashood Mustapha and Saliu Mustapha at a briefing held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Ilorin said the national body of APC never communicated to them that they were disqualified.
Worse still, the aspirants said they were shocked to hear at noon on election day on radio that they had been disqualified.
The duo complained that as at the time they were addressing the media on Saturday night they were not informed either by writing or verbally of their disqualification.
Describing the action of the National body of APC as contrary to the party constitution called for a revisit of the action with immediate effect.
They disclosed that they had already petitioned the electoral committee over what they described as absurd and illegal; called for the cancellation of the election; and conduct a fresh primary election in the state.
Speaking during the protest held along Ajese-Ipo Road, the Committee’s collation centre, Alhaji Muhammad Kudus Muhammad, Honourable Olabode Towoju, Alhaji Umar Aiyelabegan alleged that the election had been manipulated in favour of one particular aspirant.
According to them, for APC to win in the 2019 general election, actual result of the primary elections held both on Friday and Saturday should be announced without further delay to avoid giving room for manipulated.
They vehemently frowned at the mode of collation of the results by the Committee headed by former governor of Oyo State; Chief Iyiola Oladokun.
As at the time of filing this report yesterday, heavily armed policemen in about ten trucks took positions at the collation centre.
Meanwhile , the Director-General of the Campaign Organization of another governorship aspirant; Professor Oba Abdulrahaeem at a press conference faulted the method employed by Chief Oladokun’s. Committee.
The Director-General; Barrister Sharafadeen Ibrahim wondered why results that ought to have been released at the local government and at constituency levels were not released. .
Ibrahim alleged that result were not made available to aspirants’ agents, the DSS, police and the INEC which, according to him, calls to question the integrity of the whole exercise.
He said much as members of the party across the 16 Local Governments were waiting for the election committee to announce the results, they would not accept any unholy announcement of the results.