Governorship: Tumsah,Maihaja, Machina Reject Imposition, Call for Open Primaries in Yobe


By Yusuf A Yusuf, Damaturu 


Tensions are escalating within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe State as three governorship aspirants have openly broken ranks with any consensus arrangement, declaring that only a direct primary election can guarantee a credible candidate for the state's top seat.

The three aggrieved party chieftains Barrister Kashim Musa Tumsah, Engr. Mustapha Maihaja, and Bashir Sheriff Machina addressed journalists on Saturday in Damaturu.Their coalition, initially a G-6, has now been whittled down to a G-3, they confirmed.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Barrister Tumsah dismissed the widely promoted claim of a unanimous consensus as false, insisting that the process was neither concluded nor transparent.

"We are here to state clearly that the so called unanimous verdict was never achieved. The consensus exercise was not completed as required. It failed, and we are now exercising our right to demand a direct primary as provided by the Electoral Act and the party's constitution," Tumsah said.

The aspirants warned that any move to impose a candidate through underhanded means would contravene both the APC constitution and Nigeria's electoral laws.They called on the party's national leadership to ensure that all rules governing direct primaries are strictly enforced.

"To get it right, the electoral law must be obeyed. We have seen that even the consensus they talk about lacked due process it felt forced and pre determined.

"Our position is that with open, direct primaries, we expect fairness. We will reject any process built on manipulated results, cancelled voting, or denial of our members' right to choose,"the three aspirants said in a unified statement. 

Interestingly, the trio revealed they have united behind a single candidate for the general election, though they stopped short of naming him.

"We are standing together, and we will back him to win the general election. Nothing short of that is acceptable. And we want it known that this task must be seen through to the end," they added.

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