By Chukwudi Nweje
The crisis and controversy over who would fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Ife Federal Constituency, during the 2023 election deepened over the weekend.
Some aspirants at the primary held on May 27, and concerned constituents have written two separate petitions to the party leadership seeking to disqualify Mr. Benjamin Aderati, who was pronounced winner of the primary.
The first petition dated May 28 is jointly signed by three of the aspirants that participated in the primary was addressed to the APC House of Representatives Appeal Committee.
In the petition, the aspirants alleged that the primary of May 27 was marred by irregularities and demanded a fresh one.
The second petition dated June 4 signed by one Morenikeji Olujoba, on behalf of some concerned constituents alleged that Adereti’s APC membership card number: OS/FEE/11/02648, of Ilare Ward 3, Polling Unit 011, upon which he contested as a member of the party and won the primary is fake.
The constituents, therefore, demand that Adereti be disqualified and substituted with one of the other aspirants.
However, an official of the APC in Osun State told Daily Sun that Aderati is a bona fide member of the party, duly registered in Ilare Ward 3, even as he said the primary conducted on May 27 was free, fair and without any unsavoury incident.
In their petition, three of the aspirants demanded that the primary should be cancelled and a new one conducted as there was widespread rigging and violence during the exercise.
The petition read in part, “We are aspirants for the House of Representatives, Ife Federal Constituency and assumed participants in primary election of May 27, 2022. We are however constrained to inform you of our concern on the conduct of yesterday’s primary election. We noticed that the primary election conducted is an abuse of fairness, equity and justice,the length and breadth of the Federal Constituency is permeated with violence and thuggery. It is appalling that the whole exercise is skewed fraudulently to favour a particular aspirant… Our prayer is for the House of Representatives Primary Election conducted on May 27, 2022 across the Federal Constituency to be cancelled and conduct fresh election. Our belief in your panel to defend justice without fear and favour is sacrosanct and we pray that God will give you the will to do so.”