By DADA AYOKHAI
The recently concluded APC House of Representatives parallel primaries held in Akoko Edo and which produced two separate candidates have become a subject of dispute between Engr Paul Afagase Johnson and Hon Peter Akpatason camps over who is the authentic candidate of the party.
The Johnson Afagase camp released a press statement in which it teased the camp of Hon Akpatason, saying the primary that produced him was a “fluke”, adding the body which conducted the primary was not properly constituted and therefore lacked the “legitimacy” to pronounce anyone as the authentic candidate of the party.
Recall that Hon Akpatason emerged from a parallel Primaries where he was proclaimed the winner. Hon Akpatason is seeking a fourth term mandate to represent Akoko Edo federal constituency.
However, reacting to the false claim put out by the Hon Akpatason camp, the camp of Engr Afagase maintained there is no truth whatsoever in the claims of Hon Akpatason as far as the results of the Akoko Edo APC primaries are concerned.
The statement re-emphasised the obvious fact that the primary which produced Hon Akpatason “lacked legitimacy and credibility” because INEC did not monitor it as stipulated by law, whereas the so-called delegates he has been banding about were “the legitimate he hurriedly put together to save face from an imminent defeat.
An APC leader in Akoko Edo, Arch. Daniel Obaro while supporting the position of the camp of Engr Afagase stated that the purported victory claim of Hon Akpatason cannot stand the test of scrutiny because the INEC did not monitor it as stipulated by law, whereas the so-called delegates he has been branding about were the illegitimate List that he hurriedly put together to save face from an imminent defeat.
On the other hand, the primary which produced Engr Afagase was monitored by INEC as well as the security agencies.
Obaro said, “The APC is a party that adheres to its own rules and regulations. There is no way the candidacy of Hon Akpatason can stand the test of time. What he is doing is tantamount to foolery, his quest for a fourth term was roundly rejected by all”.
In the coming days and weeks, all eyes seem focused on how the party leadership in Akoko Edo intends to handle the controversy shrouding who will fly the banner of the party in the forthcoming general election.
