One of the aspirants of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Aguata Federal Constituency, Mr Afam Ezenwafor, has called for a review of the primary election following what he described as the disenfranchisement of his supporters during the Saturday primary election.
Ezenwafor further accused the electoral officers of the party of aiding the manipulation of the exercise in favour of a preferred aspirant of the party.
According to one of his supporters, Mr Nnamdi Nwankwo, despite standing in the scorching sun for over two hours to queue for their preferred aspirant, voters in Achina Ward 2 and several other affected locations watched in disbelief as their numbers were completely ignored by electoral officials.
“Reports from the ground indicate a total collapse of the electoral process across these centres, with voters now demanding an immediate and thorough review of the collation exercise.”
He alleged that the Option A4 system—which requires voters to openly line up behind their chosen aspirant’s poster or representative—was utterly compromised.
“Supporters turned out in massive numbers, forming long queues under the sun, yet electoral officers allegedly bypassed them entirely.”
“The situation in Achina Ward 2 and elsewhere was particularly volatile, characterised by a total absence of physical counting for the Ezenwafor queues.”
“The Senatorial aspect of the primary in Achina Ward 2 was completely stalled, as party members vehemently rejected pre-written results being introduced by officials.
“Across the affected areas, no result sheets were filled, signed, or validated by agents, and no official scores were announced at the polling centres, leaving thousands of loyal party faithful in limbo.
”Similar electoral malpractices and heavy-handed tactics were reported across several other polling units in Aguata, indicating a widespread pattern of manipulation. In Umuchu, large turnouts of passionate supporters of Afam Ezenwafor were similarly sidelined and left uncounted.”
He also stated that a high-stakes intimidation plot unfolded in Isuofia, where a sitting government commissioner and his cohorts were spotted openly bullying party members, giving them a strict ultimatum to either vote for another aspirant, Ofobuike, or risk losing their political positions within their respective wards.
”Compounding these allegations of high-handedness and manipulation across the constituency, reports also emerged from Oraeri where the democratic process was allegedly subverted through executive coercion.
“In that sector, the Ward Chairman of Oraeri reportedly issued a strict mandate to all party members, ordering everyone to vote exclusively for Ofobuike.
“This directive, alongside the heavy intimidation witnessed in Isuofia, sparked widespread resentment among voters who felt stripped of their right to a free and fair choice, mirroring the systematic exclusion and irregularities observed in Achina Ward 2 and other voting centres,” he said.
To this end, the Ezenwafor campaign organisation is drafting a formal petition to be submitted immediately to the APGA Electoral Committee and party hierarchy.
The petition explicitly states that votes from Achina Ward 2 and other affected places were neither counted, recorded, nor signed during the collation process.
The campaign organisation is officially demanding an immediate review of the polling and collation records, a strict verification of result sheets against actual accreditation data, and the presentation of evidence showing how these votes were omitted.
Crucially, they are calling for the suspension of the final acceptance or declaration of the affected Aguata results pending full clarification.
