Alhaji Mahmood Sani Sha’aban, governorship aspirant in Kaduna State and son-in-law to President Muhammadu Buhari has said no delegate primary election was held anywhere in the state and that the 2,619 delegate’s list produced by the state APC is a sham.
Sani Sha’aban who made the claim through his Campaign Director-General, Dr Danladi Ephraim, called on the National Secretariat of the party to intervene.
Recall that the Appeal Committee for the Ad hoc Delegates’ Congresses of the. Party in Kaduna State had upheld the congress last weekend.
Mrs Tinuke Gbadejo-Ogunrinde, Chairperson of the Appeal Committee told journalists that a total of 1,275 delegates were elected for the local and state levels each while 69 national delegates were unanimously elected, bringing the number to a total of 2,619 delegates.
“The exercise was done by consensus by the APC’s elections guidelines and constitution, no complaint was received before, during or after the congresses,” she had said.
However, Sani Sha’aban insisted that nothing like election was held anywhere in the state.
“Contrary to the panel’s assertion that there was no complaint or petition, the Sani Sha’aban Campaign Organisation submitted a petition which the committee refused to collect,” he said.
“This statement is a direct response to the misleading and erroneous press release by the APC delegates primaries election appeal committee, given some hours ago in which it is claimed; that delegates primaries elections to produce delegates in Kaduna State were held and; that there was no petition that was submitted by any person, or a campaign organisation, during the purported two-day sitting of the appeal committee.
“We categorically deny, before you and before the whole world, that no such delegates primaries election to produce delegates were ever held in the whole of Kaduna State.”
“We have submitted a petition to the resident electoral commissioner of INEC in Kaduna State to the effect that no delegates primaries election to produce delegates were ever held, a copy of which is being made available to you, ladies and gentlemen.”
“Also, we have here before you a petition by our campaign organisation about the non-conduct of any delegates primaries election to produce the purported delegates in the state. The petition was not collected by the appeal committee.”
“We have here our petition challenging the conduct of any delegates primaries election within Kaduna State. Any such list of delegates is a contrivance of agents of the state government,” he alleged.
“The appeal committee refused to collect the petition from us. We, categorically state, that there was no delegates election in Kaduna state APC. This, to us, is a travesty of justice and fair play. The whole world should know this. We urge the party headquarters of the APC to take note and to take corrective actions in the interest of justice as we are in a democracy and not a dictatorship.”
“To cure this manifest illegality and avoid its negative consequences on the APC nomination processes in Kaduna State, we humbly pray that as an independent umpire in election matters in the state, we earnestly urge that you note and put it on record that the APC in Kaduna State failed to comply with one of the requisite constituents of the Electoral Act 2022 as contained in the party’s guideline in its choice of indirect primaries for the nomination of its candidates for the 2023 general election,” he said
