… party’s guideline sacrosanct
By Abraham Ovuoba
Chairman, National Electoral Committee on the House of Representatives Primary Election of the APC, in Ebonyi State, Barrister Kennedy Ekong, said members of the committee had been deployed materials to various parts of the state to monitor accreditation and voting processes in line with the party’s guidelines.
“We are releasing materials to officials for onward movement to the various ward centres. Each envelope contains materials designated for the wards in each local government area. We have also divided ourselves into committees to monitor the exercise,” he said.
Reacting to concerns over alleged delays in the distribution of election materials, Ekong explained that the materials were supplied directly by the APC national secretariat.
“These are not materials produced here by the state chapter. They were sent from the national secretariat,” he clarified.
Also speaking, the Ebonyi State Chairman of the APC, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, dismissed reports of the alleged disqualification of Hon Iduma Igariwe, the member representing Afikpo/Edda Federal Constituency, Iduma Igariwey from participating in the primary.
Emegha insisted that Igariwey remained a valid aspirant, stressing that his name had already been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“He is participating in this primary election. We cleared him and submitted the list of aspirants to INEC, and INEC acknowledged receipt,” Emegha stated.
The state APC chairman expressed confidence in the peaceful conduct of the exercise, describing the party in Ebonyi as a united political family capable of resolving internal issues through consultation and dialogue.
On his part, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Chief Jude Ikewuwa Omebe, noted that the APC constitution provides for both consensus and direct primaries depending on the peculiarities of each state, noting that the exercise would hold in the six federal constituencies of Ebonyi.
Omebe stressed that whichever option is adopted must align with the party’s constitution, which he described as the supreme guide for all party activities.
“Yes, whatever definition anyone gives it, it remains a primary election. The goal is simple—one person must emerge for each position because three people cannot occupy one seat,” he said.
