•I have no anointed candidate, says Bello
The All Progressives Congress (APC) youths in Yagbaland, Kogi State, yesterday protested alleged moves to impose an ‘anointed’ candidate on Kogi West Senatorial district.
The placard-carrying youths called for justice and a level-playing field for all aspirants in the primaries.
Some of the placards read: “2019: For Fairness, Allow Yagba for Kogi West Senate” “Endorsement of únpopular Candidate is Dangerous to our Party’s Victory” and “What is Yagba’s Crime?”
They called on the party’s leadership to adopt the direct primary to guarantee fair play and ensure the emergence of credible candidates.
Group leader Owa David, who lamented that the people of Yagba have been marginalised in the last 12 years and barred from producing a representative at the National Assembly, called on the party to uphold the existing zoning by ensuring a candidate from Yagba becomes the party’s candidate for the 2019 election.
But State Secretary Onoja Emmanuel Joshua, who addressed the protesting youths, assured them that the party would not impose any candidate on the people.
He said the party is transparent and run an open door policy in its dealings, and would not take any action that will tarnish its image.
Joshua urged them to return to their areas and do their homework by ensuring they have a credible and sellable candidate that can fly the party’s flag.
According to him, the party executives would look into the issues raised in their appeal letter and urged them to remain peaceful and calm while that is being done.
Governor Yahaya Bello has assured the members and aspirants seeking for elective positions on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) that he has no ‘anointed’ candidate ahead of the party primaries.
The party has adopted the indirect primaries.
At an APC stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Lokoja yesterday, Bello reaffirmed that he is for all the aspirants, saying whoever wins at the primaries will be the party’s candidate.
The governor promised that the party will sponsor the candidates in the general election to ensure that APC wins the contestable positions.
His words: “I have never anointed any aspirant for any position. Forms are on sale; any party members willing to contest elective positions should purchase their forms. The party will create a level playing ground for all the aspirants so that we can achieve our set objectives.”
Bello cautioned party executives against collecting money from aspirants in the name of helping them, warning that whoever indulges in such act will be sanctioned.
“We will sanction anybody who goes against this warning. Whoever is caught will face the wrath of the law, no matter who she or he is in the party”, he warned.