PDP guber: Pate, Araraume, Magoro, Ngama, others reject results

Former health minister, Mohammed Ali Pate, who participated in the exercise in Bauchi State, said no primary took place in the state, calling on the national headquarters of the party to cancel the exercise, which produced Auwal Jatau as candidate, and conduct a fresh one for fairness and good democratic practice.
Pate who spoke through the director general of his campaign organisation, Babangida Maijama’a, told journalists in Bauchi yesterday that what took place in the state was “a political manoeuvre and intimidation” masterminded by few individuals to satisfy their personal interests.
He said: “Our thinking was that we are going to witness a free and fair primary election, but a day before the election, we learnt that government had endorsed a candidate that made our aspirant to meet the state governor where he disputed the claim.”
In Imo State, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, who lost to Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, alleged that the committee sent to the state for the conduct of the exercise manipulated the results during computation. He called for immediate rectification by the party’s leadership.
Briefing journalists in Owerri, Ararume’s campaign DG, Independence Ogulewe, alleged that the election committee quoted 1017 as the total number of votes cast which, he said, was above the total number of valid votes of 1006, while 11 votes were voided.
He alleged further that Ihedioha’s total votes should have been 325 and not 346 as announced by the committee, while Araraume’s actual votes, he said, were 336.
The case is similar in Akwa Ibom State where 22 aspirants have since voiced out their opposition to the exercise and petitioned the national leadership of the party to cancel the primary, which saw the emergence of Emmanuel Udom, and conduct a fresh one.
In their petition dated December 8 and signed by H.E Nsima Ekere and 21 others under the umbrella of Forum for Akwa Ibom State PDP Governorship Aspirants, which was addressed to the party’s national chairman, Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, and copied President Goodluck Jonathan, the aspirants said there was no accreditation of delegates, alleging that some non-delegates voted, while official ones were “walked out” of the venue.
“We are asking the party to nullify the exercise and conduct an unbiased governorship primary for the right candidate to emerge. It is in the interest of the party to have this issue resolved,” they said.
In Plateau State, 12 aspirants, out of the 16 that lost the ticket to Gyang Pwajok, have rejected the outcome, alleging that the exercise that produced the candidate was fraught with irregularities.
Addressing a press conference in Jos, some of the 12 aspirants, including former governor Fidelis Tapgun, Senator Victor Lar, Chris Bature, Haruna Dabin, Prof Sonny Tyoden and John Alkali, alleged that the delegates were induced with money to vote during the primary.
Similarly, eight aspirants in Kebbi State have called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to investigate and punish perpetrators of the parallel primaries that declared Gen Sarkin-Yaki Bello winner at the parallel primaries on Monday.
In a communiqué they signed and read during a press conference, the eight aspirants alleged that “there was no screening and accreditation before the commencement of the primary election as required in the PDP guidelines which is contrary to our earlier agreement with electoral committee.”
The eight aspirants are Deputy Governor Ibrahim Aliyu, Sen. Muhammadu Magoro, Zubairu Abdullahi Turaki, Dr Musa Zagi, Saidu Samaila Sambawa, Prof Abubakar Mohammed Gulma, Gen Muhammadu Dan Hanne Isah and Muhammadu Sani Umar Kalgo. Zubairu, however, excused himself from the press conference.
For Yobe State guber primary, which was won by Adamu Maina Waziri, three of the four aspirants that contested for the party’s ticket have rejected the outcome of the exercise said to have been held at Legacy House in Abuja.
The three aspirants, Yerima Ngama, Ibrahim Talba and Hassan Kifayos, said the exercise fell short of the party’s guidelines as only 21 delegates out of 670 were in attendance, saying venue of the event, time and names of the delegates that attended were not communicated to them.
Ngama also said at a press briefing that with this development, the chances of the party winning the governorship seat in Yobe State has been thrown into uncertainty.