The Bauchi Progressives Forum has rejected the results announced by the committee overseeing the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in Bauchi State, describing the outcome as fictitious and misleading.
In a statement issued to journalists by its Chairman, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, the group claimed that no governorship primary election was conducted anywhere in the state, alleging instead that aspirants were pressured to step down in favour of former Governor Muhammad Abubakar.
According to the statement, the aspirants were invited by party stakeholders and persuaded to accept a consensus arrangement because they were denied the opportunity to participate in a credible direct primary election.
“There was no governorship primary election in Bauchi state. Let us not attempt to deceive Nigerians,” the statement read. “It is distasteful for the Chairman of the Primaries Committee to announce figures of votes that were neither cast nor counted.”
The Forum challenged the committee to provide evidence that voting took place in any ward or local government area across the state.
“We had agents across the state, and there was not a single vote cast or counted anywhere. There were no queues and no accreditation of voters,” Abdullahi stated.
The group further demanded photographic evidence of voting activities, insisting that no such evidence exists.
Speaking further, Abdullahi said the development raised concerns about the democratic credentials of the APC in the state.
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“No APC member in Bauchi state who watched the video of those figures being announced would believe that the party truly represents democracy or progressive ideals,” he said.
The Forum, however, clarified that it was not opposed to the emergence of Muhammad Abubakar as the APC governorship candidate, but objected to claims that he emerged through a democratic election process.
According to the statement, some aspirants initially resisted the consensus arrangement and preferred a direct primary before eventually agreeing to step down.
“What we expected was for the party to openly state that he emerged through a forced consensus, not to falsely claim that an election was conducted,” the statement added.
