A group of disqualified Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly aspirants has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership of manipulation.
The aggrieved politicians alleged that the screening process was deliberately designed to sideline non-aligned candidates in favour of those reportedly backed by Governor Umo Eno and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The aggrieved aspirants, who addressed journalists in Uyo on Thursday under the umbrella of Concerned Disqualified APC House of Assembly Aspirants, claimed they were suddenly declared unqualified despite having previously contested elections and flown the APC flag in earlier polls.
Their protest comes weeks after PREMIUM TIMES reported that Messrs Eno and Akpabio had endorsed some serving lawmakers for return tickets following the governor’s defection to the APC and his reported political agreements with some legislators.
The group described their disqualification as “a sorrowful day in the history of our hard-earned democracy.”
The aspirants said the APC, founded on “progressivism, fairness, justice, internal democracy, and equal opportunity,” was now being threatened by “impunity, intimidation, favouritism, and deliberate suppression of genuine party members.”
According to them, after aspirants paid for nomination and expression of interest forms following the commencement of sales on 25 April, the state party leadership allegedly withheld the forms and made them available only to the 26 serving House of Assembly members at the residence of the Speaker of the state assembly, Udeme Otong.
The group said they later petitioned the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, which intervened and ensured that forms were eventually released to other aspirants.
The aspirants also alleged that the state chapter conducted a secret screening exercise for “anointed aspirants” outside the official timetable before another intervention by the national secretariat compelled the party to organise a fresh screening on 11 May.
They further accused the state leadership of announcing an appeal process without first publishing the names of cleared and disqualified aspirants.
According to them, when they arrived at the APC secretariat for the purported appeal process, the venue was deserted.
“Sensing foul play and a predetermined agenda, we gathered at the party office only to discover that the purported venue for the appeal process was completely deserted and under lock and key,” the group said.
The aspirants alleged that some members of the screening committee privately advised them to contact the party’s national headquarters because there were alleged directives from “powerful interests” within the state to disqualify certain aspirants, regardless of merit or qualification.
The group also questioned the authenticity of a document released on 13 May that purportedly listed the names of cleared and disqualified aspirants.
They described the document as “unsigned, unaddressed, mutilated, and highly questionable.”
The aspirants argued that no reasons were provided for their alleged disqualification despite meeting constitutional and party requirements.
“Some of us have contested elections under the APC in previous election cycles. Some even proudly flew the flag of this same party as candidates during the last elections,” they said.
“It is therefore shocking and unacceptable that individuals once considered qualified and credible under the APC have suddenly become ‘unqualified’ merely because of changing political interests within the state.”
APC reacts
Reacting to the allegations, the Akwa Ibom APC spokesperson, Patrick Edeke, denied claims of manipulation and insisted that the process was conducted in line with the party guidelines.
“All the people who bought forms were ably qualified to have bought forms because it is their political right. Just like in school, you have processes of selection. You must meet the basic screening criteria,” Mr Edeke told PREMIUM TIMES.
“As such, they were not qualified according to the party to run the election. The party is taking a cue from the national.”
He dismissed the protest by the aspirants as the reaction of politicians dissatisfied with the screening process’s outcome.
“It is a normal process where people feel disgruntled when they don’t reach a required cut. No one was maliciously disenfranchised,” he said.
Asked to disclose the specific criteria the aspirants allegedly failed to meet, especially as some were qualified in previous elections, Mr Edeke declined.
“That is the party’s prerogative. It is a party affair. The party is not compelled to reveal answers on what disqualified them,” he said.
On the aspirants’ claim that there was no appeal committee at the designated venue, Mr Edeke questioned how they sought an appeal when, according to him, the names of successful aspirants had not yet been officially published at the time.
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Responding to allegations that only aspirants backed by Messrs Eno and Akpabio were cleared, the APC spokesperson defended the process, citing the turnout recorded during the party primaries.
“When we look at the overwhelming turnout of party faithful to the Saturday primaries, it shows that they are happy with the process that gave the party the candidates for the forthcoming elections,” he said.
“Was the process free and fair? Are the people happy with it? Was it transparent? Yes, absolutely. No process was done behind closed doors.”
Mr Edeke added that “the majority will have their way, the minority will have their say,” insisting that the party faithful supported the outcome of the exercise.