By Chijindu Emeruwa, Abia.

A non governmental organization and pro-democracy group, Civil Society for Justice and Fairness (CSJF), has urged the national leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC), to adhere to its rules and not to allow disgruntled elements to infiltrate its rank to jeopardize its internal democracy to for selfish political aggrandizement.

The group also asked the APC national body to resist clandestine move by faceless and unscrupulous political jobbers to lure the progressive party into altering the outcome of the concluded direct gubernatorial primary election of the party held across the 184 electoral wards of the seventeen local government areas of Abia state, aligned with true democratic principles and practices.

This comes on the background of a move by the APC to replace candidates that emerged after its direct primaries in Abia in line with its request to INEC in its own letter dated 25th May,2022, with reference no-APC/NHDCINEC/19/022/61, in which the party adopted direct primaries mode of election in Abia, Benue and Osun States.

The letter was signed by the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

However, the CSJF in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Maxwell Adebanjo and Secretary General, Emmanuel Otuchere, issued on Saturday, also cautioned the party leadership against thwarting its overwhelming acceptability among people of Abia state, and as well, destroying laudable gains it achieved in the development of the APC in the state, admonishing Senator Abdullahi Adamu- led APC to stick with the direct mode of primary election it approved for adoption in the conduct of concluded execrise in Abia, as anything short of this, would lead to complete rejection of the party in the upcoming 2023 general election by large population of Abia electorates, who are yearning for APC as the only alternative to enthrone the needed leadership in all levels of Abia state, and as well extinct the party in Abia’s political landscape.

The civil society group called on the Independent National Electoral Commission not to shift ground on the position of the Nigeria’s electoral law, asking the nation’s electoral umpire to call on the APC to order, on the dangers of the sinister move to manipulate and upturn outcome of the concluded direct primaries gubernatorial primary election held in Abia, urging the electoral commission not to accept replacement or substitutiin of the winner of the May 26 governorship primaries and other candidates that emerged from the recently concluded process.

The CSJF was of the view that the orchestrators of the evil machinations to negate the party’s internal democratic practices had remained the clogs in the wheel of progress of the Abia chapter of APC to form next government in Abia, thereby worsening the sufferings foisted on Abia populaces in the past 16 years by the Peoples Democratic Party-led administrations ocassioned by its draconian, impoverished and inhuman policies and programmes, adding that the party is capable of losing the 2023 elections should it go ahead to wrongly replace the winner, with an aspirant that polled third position during the direct primaries.

According to the CSJF, ” Ogah’s emergence as governorship standard bearer of the APC is the true will, reflection and wish of genuine and law-abiding members of the APC in Abia State who compiled with the directive of the national leadership of the party on direct primary mode of epection in Abia State on 26th May and some other states.

“We urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not to, under any guise to recognize any substitution of the name, and we, as Civil Society Group, with officials of INEC monitored the concluded process that produced the ex-minister state of mines, who won the direct primaries APC approved for adoption in the conduct of gubernatorial primary election for Abia State”.

Recall that Dr Uche Ogah had scored 141,952 votes to beat his closest rival, Paul Ikonne who scored 27,054.

Other gubernatorial aspirants includes, Chief Ikechi Emenike who polled 9,446, Emeka Atuma with 7,429, Obinna Oriaku with 5,553, Alex Otti scored 2,41, and Daniel Eke who got 1,953 at the keenly contested direct primaries.

This was announced by the Returning Officer of the concluded Abia APC gubernatorial primaries held in Umuahia, the state capital, Barrister Perfect Okorie.