Lauretta Onochie, former Social Media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed her dismay over the recently concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Edo State, labeling it as a disgrace to the party.
Onochie bemoaned the infiltration of undesirable elements within the APC, asserting that these individuals now wield control over the party’s decision-making process.
The primary election, aimed at selecting the APC’s gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming election, resulted in the emergence of three different candidates. Chairman of the primary election committee, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, declared Dennis Idahosa the winner, while the Returning Officer, Stanley Ugboaja, announced Senator Monday Okpebholo as the APC candidate.
The crisis escalated on Sunday when Anamero Dekeri became the third aspirant to claim victory in Saturday’s governorship primary. Ojo Babatunde, representing all local government returning officers, asserted that Dekeri secured 25,384 votes to win the contest.
Expressing her thoughts on the situation, Onochie posted on X, stating: “APC must be different. I am so ashamed, embarrassed, and scandalized by the disgraceful conduct of our APC in the Edo State Primary, where four Candidates have now emerged.
“We are Progressives, for heaven’s sake! This is what happens when a few unwholesome men hijack a political party and dictate who should run, taking that role from the people.
“Why is APC bent on keeping the South South a PDP territory? Each time we have an opportunity to field a winning candidate, PDP agents in APC ensure that APC fields an inferior candidate who does not stand a chance of winning the PDP candidate. It happened in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom.
“@OfficialAPCNg must recover our party from traders and work with core progressives in the region to give Nigerians in general and South South in particular, a decent alternative to the messed up PDP.
“At the moment, I look at the two political parties and APC is looking more like PDP than a Progressive political party.
“I believe that the current situation where women are excluded from leadership in APC, does the party no good. A situation where the National woman leader and state woman leaders are nominated by men ensures that women are not adequately represented in the party. You can’t clap with one hand.”
