By DADA AYOKHAI
The All Progressives Congress, APC, may have successfully concluded its House of Reps primaries in the Edo North district devoid of violence and litigations, but the ripple of what transpired and how the outcome was cleverly manipulated to favour certain persons is still the talk of the town.
One of the sore points of the power play which played out during the exercise was the sheer trickery and intrigues surrounding the manner some highly tipped aspirants were deliberately schemed out to ensure they do not emerge victorious in the House of Representative’s primary.
The Supporters of the Auchi aspirant, Muhammad Bawa, mostly his kinsmen, who contested and lost out in the House of Representative’s primary, are not only licking their wound but also heaping the blame about the fate of their preferred candidate on certain”imaginary external elements” who they claimed conspired to deny them of the of victory.
The Bawa supporters who see him as “adopted Auchi candidate” for the House of Representatives ticket, have placed the blame for his loss at the primaries squarely on the doorstep of Comrade Adams oshiomole and Hon Gani Audu, both of whom they accused of working against Auchi interest at the primary.
Interestingly, Hon Gani Audu, from Agbede, a neighbouring community to Auchi, is a former Etsako West council chairman. His political ward is Ward 5, which forms part of Constituency 1 alongside Auchi. Also, he was the APC guber running mate of Pastor Osaze Ize- Iyamu in the 2019 Edo governorship election.
In a petition which has gone viral titled, ” This Discourse is Strictly for Auchi Sons and Daughters”, the coalition with no arrow head, said there seems to be a conspiracy to deny Auchi of any elective position in the APC.
They accused the former APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, of using Hon Audu as a tool for his hatchet jobs, saying the reverence Auchi people accords the former comrade governor due to the priority attention his government accorded the massive facelift of Auchi township, is not an open cheque to deride and deny the ancient kingdom and its people of their political right
Regarding, Hon Audu, the coalition noted with regret how he has so soon forgotten the political fingers that fed and bred him into what he is politically today, adding his decision in 2019 to relinquish the house of assembly slot to curry Auchi’s favour to get the much-sought-after deputy governors slot, does not mean Auchi is indebted to him or anyone else, for that matter.
The coalition also stated its displeasure with the manner Auchi was sidelined during the entire APC primary, assuring it will continue its fight for justice and fairness until all the “anomalies” are properly addressed.
The coalition said it is pained at the manner Auchi was marginalised during the APC primaries, stating that it would continue its crusade until the” perceived injustice” is addressed
