By DADA AYOKHAI
There seems to be no end to the high-wired political intrigue and bickering rocking the Edo North All Progressives Congress as it battles to determine the authentic holder of the ticket for the Akoko Edo federal constituency between Afagase Johnson and Hon Peter Akpatason.
Afagase Johnson camp claimed , that he, Afagason, is the recognized All Progressive Congress, APC ,,candidate for Akoko Edo federal constituency having won the party primaries conducted by the party in line with the party’s regulations.
Similarly, Hon Peter Akpatason is also laying claim to the party’s ticket having participated and won in a parallel party’s primaries .
The failure of the National Secretariat of the party to resolve a simple matter of who is its flag bearer may end up being adjudicated by the court.
The Afagase camp is alleging that Hon Akpatason is a product of kangaroo primaries conducted by surrogates.
And to prove that, he is not ready to leave any stone unturned in the struggle to reclaim his mandate, Afagase has headed for the Federal High Court in Benin, where legal brickbats have ensued.
Hon Akpatason, also the deputy majority leader in the House of Representatives, was accused of having used underhand tactics and engaged in outright abuse of the process, .
Some top brass Edo North APC leaders openly resisted the fourth-term ambition of Hon Akpatason but it is somewhat of a surprise how he managed to “circumvent and hijack” the process.
The court hearing is scheduled to commence on Monday, June 20, in Benin, the Edo State capital.
Going by the INEC guidelines, the withdrawal and the replacement/substitution of candidates will take place between July 15 to August 12.
