Keyamo Pulls Out Of APC’s Delta Central Senatorial Primaries

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Lagos, News Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Lagos Lawyer Festus Keyama

Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo has pulled out of today’s All Progressives Congress, APC primaries in the Delta Central Senatorial by-election, Delta State, Nigeria, describing the primaries as fraudulent.

Keyamo, in a letter to the Chairman, APC Delta Central Senatorial Bye-Election

Primaries’ Committee, said he had taken a painful but necessary decision not to participate in the primaries to be organized later today at Ughelli because the whole exercise was nothing but a sham that is packaged, rigged and concocted to favour his opponent, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor.

He said that the exercise was preceded on the 24th of September, 2013 by registration of limited number of members of APC in Delta State since there were no registered members before now, being a newly registered party and that in the said exercise, it was agreed with members of the APC committee that the slots for the registration cards for the new members would be distributed evenly between former members of the merging parties in each local government area, which were the defunct parties-ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of DPP.

“However, when the materials arrived the venues, thugs loyal to my opponent, hijacked the materials, beat up the officials and took the materials to unknown places (outside the approved venues) to fill up the registers and cards. The L.G.As where no formal registration took place at all are Sapele, Ethiope West, Ughelli North and Ughelli South. Partial registration occurred in Ethiope East before the thugs of my opponent disrupted the scene and carted away materials.

“I have met formally with some members of the committee and asked for the outright cancellation of thoseL.G.As where no registration took place at all and for us to proceed with the primaries with the L.G.As where registration took place. I was however just told this morning by the Committee that full registers of registered members have surfaced in L.G.As like Sapele, Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Ethiope East with strange names,” Keyamo explained in the letter.

Keyamo said he and his supporters did not know how and when these registers were filed up and membership cards issued, saying that this was because his supporters stayed at the registration venues in these L.G.As till late in the night before they went home.

“In this circumstance, it becomes a worry to me and my supporters to go into a contest where they were not given an equal chance to register to vote for someone of their choice. It is disappointing that the Committee members of the APC connived openly with my opponent to allow such a brazen rape of free choice and democracy to take place. Other open acts of bias on the part of the APC Committee are: that the venues for registration were not known to me and my supporters, despite repeated demands, up till about 11:00am on the day of the registration whereas, my opponent’s supporters had filled the venues as early as 6:00am,” he stated.

Keyamo added that the venue for the sham primaries was not made known to him despite repeated demands until about 12:00 noon today, whereas his opponent’s supporters had thronged the venue as early as 6:00am today.

“In the circumstances, I boldly say that any result that comes out of today’s exercise will be a colossal fraud and waste of time. Please, count me out. This is a notice that no vote should be cast or counted in my favour in the today staged-managed process,’ he warned, adding that he had sent a copy of the letter to the Interim National Committee of the APC.