An aspirant in the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State, Abdulrahman Haske, has raised concerns over the conduct of the exercise, citing alleged irregularities in the process.
The party’s governorship primary, held on Friday, produced former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Ahmed Galadima, as the winner.
The result was announced in Yola by the chairman of the governorship primary election committee, Prof. Innocent Bariko.
However, in a statement issued on Saturday by his campaign Publicity Secretary, Abdulgaffar Ahmed, Haske questioned the credibility of the exercise, claiming that results from some local government areas were still being collated when the winner was declared at the Government House on Friday.
“The absence of collation processes in some Local Government Areas, irregularities in voting in certain polling units, and limited access to collation procedures before the final declaration of results raises questions on the primaries,” the statement said.
“It was surprising that while we were waiting for the collation of the votes to happen; what happened to our greatest surprise was declaration of the winner. We have our data and we would consult and state our position over the weekend,” Haske added.
While acknowledging that a winner had been declared, the APC aspirant stressed that the credibility of any electoral process must be anchored on transparency, fairness, and inclusiveness.
“The integrity of the process is as important as the outcome. Transparent and inclusive procedures remain essential to sustaining trust, confidence, and unity within our great party,” he stated.
Haske expressed appreciation to his supporters across Adamawa State, urging them to remain calm and law-abiding as consultations continue with party leaders and stakeholders.
“Together, we fought a strong and determined battle with conviction, unity, and hope for a better Adamawa. This journey is far from over, and by the grace of Almighty Allah, we shall emerge stronger, more united, and more determined in the days ahead,” he said.
The statement further disclosed that the campaign organisation was reviewing the conduct of the exercise and exploring “all legitimate avenues available.”
“Our decisions will be guided by due process, party unity, and the best interests of Adamawa State,” he said.
He added that consultations were ongoing “with party leaders, stakeholders, and supporters to determine the appropriate next course of action within the framework of the party’s constitution.”
“To our resilient and committed supporters across the 21 Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, we salute your courage, sacrifices, and unwavering commitment in standing by us throughout the governorship direct primaries,” he added.
Reaffirming his loyalty to the APC, Haske emphasised the need to uphold internal democracy, unity, stability, and progress within the party and Adamawa State.
Reacting to Haske’s allegations, the Adamawa APC spokesman, Victor Dogo, told PUNCH via telephone on Saturday that the claims were unfounded and fabricated to tarnish the image of the party.
“Any aspirants that is not satisfy with the conduct of the primaries should approach the appeal committee and seek redress instead of making provoking statements in the media “, he said.
“Haske is a young man and he has a brighter political future ahead of him, some of you journalists that are close to him should try to advise him to control his tongue, ” he stated.
Dogo claimed that the Adamawa APC governorship primaries conducted on Thursday met all democratic standards.
“The governorship primary election was free , fair and transparent, the votes scored by all the aspirants that participated were announced by the chairman of the committee prof. Innocent Bariko,” he said.
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