The governorship aspirants in a release on Thursday obtained by SaharaReporters said Adamu had perfected plans to foist a candidate on the state, and had also engaged a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.) to lead the delegation and militarise the process.
Five aggrieved governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have accused the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, of plotting to force a kangaroo primary election on them after the Supreme Court sacked Emmanuel Bwacha, the erstwhile candidate of the party.
The governorship aspirants in a release on Thursday obtained by SaharaReporters said Adamu had perfected plans to foist a candidate on the state, and had also engaged a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.) to lead the delegation and militarise the process.
The five aggrieved aspirants noted that Adamu’s action was in “total and flagrant disobedience to the Supreme Court judgement” and they would seek redress in court should the APC national chairman go ahead with the planned kangaroo governorship primary.
“For the purpose of refreshing our memories, the race to clinch the APC Gubernatorial ticket started in 2022 with seven aspirants who all obtained the party‘s expression of interest and nomination form.
“On the day of the primaries, while all aspirants and delegates had an unresolved meeting at Shield Hotel Jalingo, for security concerns, the Chairman of the committee Mr Lawrence Onochukwu was taken to the police headquarters in Jalingo for safety.
“At the police headquarters, on seeing on social media photos of fake direct primary election in some part of the state, the chairman Mr. Lawrence Onochukwu granted a press briefing that he never authorised any primaries and that elections would hold the next day after sorting out all the issues.
“All the aspirants with the exception of Emmanuel Bwacha woke up in the morning watching amateur videos surprised and also reading in the media that the Chairman of the committee had announced one Emmanuel Bwacha as the winner of the Taraba APC gubernatorial primaries – a primary that never held,” the aspirants said.
“After sorting out all the internal mechanism within the party to arrest the situation, no effort was made by the party to do the right thing. Hence the need for legal action against the party and the acclaimed winner of the primaries (Emmanuel Bwacha). The Legal action ended at the apex court and we were vindicated that truly there were no gubernatorial primaries in Taraba APC.
“Following the Supreme Court judgement on the 1st of February, 2023 that voided the purported APC Gubernatorial primaries in Taraba State that produced Emmanuel Bwacha, the National working committee of the party under the leadership of Senator Abdullahi Adamu did not convene any meeting with the aspirants whether physically of virtually for any briefing rather a text message was sent to us the aspirants today 9th February 2023 followed by social media reports that a primary is scheduled to hold at Mumuye Hall, Mile 6 Jalingo tomorrow 10th February, 2023.
“This is a total and flagrant disobedience to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of David Sabo Kente vs Sen Emmanuel Bwacha. For the avoidance of doubt, the apex court did not at any time order for another primary after it voided the acclaimed primaries that brought Sen Bwacha,” they added.
“As law abiding Nigerians and loyal party men, we are telling the whole world that we will not be part of the ILLEGAL primary election as scheduled by the NWC under the leadership of Sen Abdullahi Adamu.”
“Nigerians and every faithful APC members should know that the flair for usual flagrant disobedience to court order and lack of internal democracy has beclouded the judgment of individuals whom we have entrusted with leadership and so they will go to any length to enthrone impunity for their personal interest, which will certainly attract heavy consequences.
“This pact between the National chairman and Sen Emmanuel Bwacha is something APC members must find out and even Nigerians at large,” they concluded.