A candidate for the Abia Central Senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rep. Sam Onuigbo, has called on those behind attacks against him to explain their roles in what he described as the “whimsical allocation of votes” during the party’s May 18 senatorial primary election.
Onuigbo alleged that revelations surrounding the disputed primary had unsettled those responsible for what he termed a “ballot bazaar” in the aborted exercise, adding that the individuals involved were now afraid that their alleged clandestine activities within the APC were being exposed.
The former lawmaker was reacting to reports dismissing a petition submitted by some APC stakeholders in Abia Central Senatorial District challenging the conduct of the primary election.
He urged those behind the attacks to stop worsening what he described as the damage already done to the image and reputation of the APC in the South-East.
A group identifying itself as leaders of the APC in Abia Central had earlier petitioned the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, in a letter titled “Calculated Campaign of Falsehood.”
The group accused Onuigbo of making false allegations about irregularities in a bid to destabilise the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, Onuigbo challenged the authors of the petition to explain what he called the “magic figures” allocated to the three contestants in the disputed primary.
According to him, the APC National Working Committee (NWC) should investigate how one candidate allegedly received 36,935 votes, while two others were allocated 11,457 and 5,833 votes respectively.
He further alleged that the primary process was hijacked, citing complaints by former Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, who reportedly petitioned the APC leadership after waiting throughout the day without any official arriving at her Osisioma Ngwa Ward 2 or anywhere in the local government area to conduct the exercise.
“This shameful conduct by a few overzealous individuals in the Abia Central Senatorial primary has cost the APC not only in terms of reputation, but also the structural harmony existing in the party,” Onuigbo said.
“For instance, as we speak, Senator Nwaogu has left APC out of the vexatious denial of participation in a simple exercise as senatorial primary.”
Onuigbo questioned how a senatorial district with about 56,860 registered members could produce 36,935 votes for one candidate when, according to him, elections did not hold in most wards across the six local government areas in the district.
“Let them help the national leadership of our great party make sense of this puzzle: In a Senatorial District that has roughly 56,860 members, how did the architects of the confusion in Abia Central Senatorial primary election come about the 36,935 votes it gifted a single candidate, when no election held in most wards of the six Local Government Areas that make up the Senatorial District?
“The authors of the fabricated results for Abia Central Senatorial primary should also tell Nigerians where they got the certificate of return issued to the alleged winner, when the national leadership of the party categorically denied that no such document except Mr President’s certificate of return was printed,” he added.
The former House of Representatives member lamented that the controversy had turned the APC in Abia State into a “laughing stock” instead of strengthening the party ahead of future elections.
“I wish to encourage the leaders of our great party to painstakingly get to the roots of the confusion that engulfed the conduct of Abia Central Senatorial primary election, as well as the reputation damage caused by those who hijacked the process for their narrow interest,” Onuigbo added.
