A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, David Kente, says the party did not conduct House of Representatives primaries in the state on Saturday.
However, the state APC leadership dismissed his claim.
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Mr Kente told journalists on Sunday in Jalingo that election materials arrived late and were distributed only overnight, contradicting video clips circulating on social media that showed voting had already taken place.
He said officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) contacted him around 5 a.m. on Sunday to announce the commencement of materials distribution at Fastrack Hotel, hours after the alleged voting was said to have occurred.
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“There was no election anywhere in Taraba yesterday,” Mr Kente said.
“Materials arrived around 3 p.m. and were shared through the night, yet we were told elections had already taken place in the local government areas and results were written.”
Mr Kente, who is a governorship aspirant, also denied withdrawing from the race for any candidate, saying a recent visit to his house by Governor Agbu was misconstrued.
Mr Kefas is seeking reelection under the APC banner.
“The governor’s visit was not unusual,” he said. “We discussed party issues, including the closure of the secretariat, but there was no agreement for me to withdraw. I have not received money from anyone and cannot be induced.”
Mr Kente said consultations with his supporters showed strong backing for him to remain in the contest, insisting that a transparent primary would favour him.
“If allowed to contest fairly, I will defeat him hands down,” he said, adding that internal party disputes, particularly over the swearing-in of local government party officials in Ussa, Takum and Donga, could trigger litigation and destabilise the party in the state.
Reacting, the APC in Taraba State rejected Mr Kente’s claims.
The party’s spokesperson, Aaron Artimas, described the allegation that the primaries were not held as false and misleading, insisting that the APC successfully conducted its primaries across the state.
Mr Artimas said Mr Kente had a history of rejecting the outcome of party primaries whenever they did not favour him.
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“For the past 20 years, Kente has always complained whenever primaries are conducted. I honestly do not know what he wants to achieve,” he said.
He questioned the credibility of Mr Kente’s account, noting that the aspirant hails from Wukari but was in Jalingo at the time of the primaries.
“He is from Wukari and was in Jalingo. How would he know that primaries were not conducted? What was he doing in Jalingo when he was supposed to be in Wukari, where the primary took place?” the spokesperson asked.
Mr Artimas maintained that the allegations were unfounded, stressing that the exercise was held as scheduled and that results from several constituencies were already being collated.
“I can tell you authoritatively that primaries were conducted across the state, and results have started coming in,” he said.
Efforts to obtain an official reaction from INEC were unsuccessful. Calls to the commission’s spokesperson in Taraba State, Martins Bandawa, did not connect as of the time of filing this report.
The APC has been conducting its primaries nationwide ahead of the forthcoming elections, amid disputes and legal threats from some aspirants in several states.
