LG Election: Ex-Presidential Aide Foresees Implosion In C’River APC Over Candidates’ Selection
A former presidential adviser and chieftain of the APC in Cross River State, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla has faulted the modalities adopted by the governor and leader of the party, Senator Bassey Otu, in the selection of candidates for the local government election in the state.
Obono-Obla said in an online interview with TNN that with the level of anger that trailed the announced names of chairmanship candidates by the governor a few days ago, the party would experience an implosion. He said the leadership of the party may not have guided the governor properly.
The lawyer also urged the governor to quickly take steps to reorganize the leadership structure of the party, suggesting what he called a mid-term congress, where new leaders would emerge, that would run the party till 2027, if the party was serious about winning future elections in the state.
He said “we were given the impression that the party would use either of the two options spelt out in the APC Constitution,2013 (as amended) to conduct primary elections. These two options are direct or indirect primaries.
“To the best of my knowledge, the APC adopted indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the local government councils elections if the guidelines announced by the party on the 11 October 2024 is anything to go by.
“Curiously and surprisingly, the party woefully and brazenly failed, refused and neglected to follow its guidelines and its constitution in the nomination of candidates for the local government councils elections.
“The Party adopted selectioncracy rather than democracy tenets in carrying out the nomination exercise. Selectioncracy is alien to our constitutional democracy. It is a pseudo and queer method which left many party members confounded, frustrated angry and exasperated.
“It is inconceivable, unimaginable and outrageous a supposedly democratic and progressive political party would employ such inferior and anachronistic method to nominate its candidate which amount to a complete rape and violation of its guidelines and constitution.”
Obono-Obla said the process was not in line with democratic tenets and was already causing rumpus in the party. “It has led to a number of aspirants gasping their teeth and threatening fire and brimstones. The party is teetering or tottering on the brink.
“The members of the original APC who had been in the legacy parties that merged in 2013 from as far back as 1999 when the country returned to democratic civil rule are the worst hit in the selection exercise.
“This is because when Governor Ben Ayade and his group defected into APC from PDP, they took advantage of the incumbency of Ayade to take over all the structures or organs of the party from the polling unit, wards, local governments and state levels, leaving the old APC to contend with less than 2.5 per cent of these structures. Therefore everything is skewed in favour of these defectors.
“In the selection of candidates, the defectors took more than 16 chairmanship and 170 councillors positions. This is blatant injustice and marginalization which, if not addressed, would put the party on the death knell.”
He expressed the fear that the looming implosion would lead to a disastrous end for the party. According to him, “there is no longer at ease in Cross River State APC and the different tendencies and blocs that make up the party are on the verge of imploding if nothing is done to paper the cracks following the selection of candidates for the local government elections.
“The governor should, as quickly as possible, take serious steps and measures to ease the marginalization, sidelining and imbalances in the party and reconcile those who are aggrieved by one segment of the party that is an advantageous position because of the support it enjoyed from former Governor Ayade’s administration and also the present administration.
“There should be immediately put in place a mid term congress to elect a new executive committees from the polling unit to the wards to the Local Governments and the State to pilot the affairs of the Party until 2027.”
When asked if such a congress can be organized when there was a valid leadership in place, he said “there is a provision for the mid-term national convention or congress, where any issue can be given to the national convention or congress to decide.
“Therefore, the state congress can be invited to decide the fate of the state exco. If the state congress decides that the present state executive committee should be restructured so that all tendencies or groups or blocs within the party be accommodated, so be it.”
