According to two prominent All Progressives Congress candidates, the APC primary for Cross River Central was rigged to disenfranchise thousands of party members from the 66 wards of the senatorial district and install a favored candidate.
Speaking before a gathering of supporters in Ikom, Senators Eteng Jonas Williams and Mary Ekpere asked for the immediate cancelation of the primary that had been held earlier that day, calling it “flawed and illegitimate.”
Eteng stated, “The process was compromised from the start.” He charged that party officials employed an unapproved panel that was “deliberately constituted to influence the outcome” and withheld election materials.
Eteng claims that supporters found empty venues when they came at ward and local government collation centers. He said that voting locations were abruptly changed overnight.
“This was a deliberate attempt by powerful party figures to stifle participation and impose a predetermined outcome,” he claimed.
Ekpere said that in an attempt to disqualify her from the competition, her name was subtly shifted from the Cross River Central list to the Cross River North list.
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She claimed, “The state chapter took that action to make room for a preferred candidate of the state government.”
Both candidates claimed that the APC national secretariat, which had excluded Oden Ewa due to clearance concerns and mandated that the results be transmitted to Abuja for certification, had issued a direct instruction that the primary had disregarded.
“We are all APC members who worked for the party’s survival during its challenging years,” Ekpere declared. It is deplorable that Oden Ewa is receiving preferential treatment in spite of his disqualification. Governor Otu shouldn’t let the party be undermined by self-serving objectives.
At the event, supporters cautioned that if the grievances were ignored, the party might become divided before the general elections. They called on the national leadership of the APC to step in, enforce discipline, and bring back internal democracy.
One speaker stated, “Any perceived compromise of party supremacy could spark protest votes and weaken the party’s electoral chances.”
The accusations have not yet been addressed by the APC state chapter. Regarding the request for cancellation, the national secretariat has also remained silent.
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