Crisis Rocks APC: 5 Aspirants Call for Dismissal of Ismaila Numan from Senatorial Race

Daily Rendezvous

- They Are Angry Losers, I Did Not Break Any Electoral Laws-Ismaila Numan

Scandal looms in Adamawa APC as six senatorial hopefuls gunning for the Southern Adamawa senatorial seat lock horns over the conduct of primary.

Five of the aspirants have unanimously petitioned the Senate Appeal Committee of the party against one of the aspirants, Adamu Ismaila, demanding for his outright disqualification over alleged vote buying and breach of electoral guidelines.

The five aspirants claimed that Adamu was nabbed buying votes and that he has mischievously manipulated the primary process with some members of the electoral panel to declare him winner in a contest that never held and where all the five other aspirants did not participate in.

They made this known at a press conference in Yola, Adamawa state.

The five aspirants, Bala Sanga, Bridget Zidon, Grace Bent, Sani Jada, Ahmad Abubakar contended that, they had earlier informed the electoral committee that the time re-scheduled for the elections was logistically not feasible for a senatorial zone with nine local governments.

Speaking on behalf of the five petitioners Sanga said, "Our prayers remain as contained in our letter of 29th May 2022, namely that Adamu Ismaila Numan be disqualified for vote buying during electoral process in public glare and thereby embarrassing the Party.

"A fresh Committee be set up to hold fresh primaries.

"The venue of the primaries be moved from Numan to an alternate venue within the Senatorial Zone, given the level of thuggery experienced.

"We trust that the All Progressives Congress, will do justice and avert the ridicule and degradation brought upon it by Adamu Ismaila Numan, by acceding to our prayers. We stand ready at all times to appear before the Senatorial Elections Appeal Committee."

The five aspirants argued in a letter Dated 29th May, 2022, and made available to Daily Sun, Tuesday, that no primary was held in the zone and the results circulated were manufactured.

They say despite their rejection of the rescheduled time, "The Primaries proceeded to hold, on the 29th of May 2022, despite our absence, and we believe that results were determined and allocated to us. 

"Most of the delegates had scattered in the Senatorial Zone, with distances apart of almost four hours, its humanly impossible to have gathered back all delegates in the absence of our good selves and our Agents, the accreditation process was clearly a sham.

"In such Primaries, Result Sheets would have been issued and all Aspirants and/or their Agents sign off on such. If indeed the Results Sheets were signed off, they can only be forgeries as we and our Agents were not at the venue.

"We urge the Appeal Committee to consider the following critical factors which infringe the basic tenets of justice, the Guidelines of the All Progressives Congress and all political expedience."

They further held that Adamu Ismaila should have been disqualified alongside his agent since the secretary of the electoral committee has already established vote buying. 

They said, "When the process of the Primaries commenced, on the 28th of May 2022, vote buying was immediately noticed. 

"The Secretary of the Committee, Lazarus Dagazee, announced to the world that the Committee had disqualified the Agent of Adamu Ismaila Numan and that voting would continue. 

"In essence, the Electoral Committee confirmed the vote buying and that was the basis of the disqualification of the Agent. 

"For anything else to happen outside of the disqualification of Adamu Ismaila Numan would further bring disrepute to the Party, after the secretary of the Electoral Committee had confirmed the vote buying. 

"It is a settled principle of law that the conduct of the Agent binds his principal and for the Electoral Committee to disqualify the Agent but insist that the Adamu Ismaila Numan would not be disqualified turns justice on its head and can only bring ridicule and disrepute to the Party, contrary to the Guidelines of the Party.

"This would again be standing logic on its head and the Electoral Committee would have to now explain why the Agent of Adamu Ismaila Numan was disqualified. The All Progressives Congress would become a laughing stock for engaging in vile and blatant chicanery and sophistry."

They challenged that the APC can not associate itself with this pattern of behaviour being an opposition party in the state and that if it aims to regain power in the state this kind of brazen injustice must be rejected by all.

"The Primaries that held on 29th May 2022 had all the imprints of a charade with a pre-arranged outcome. The candidates received text messages at 8.54am that the postponed primaries had been rescheduled for 12pm. 

"Thus a period of only 3 hours and 6 minutes was given for the Primaries. 

"As we pointed out, the logistics of gathering delegates from their homes in just three hours is humanly impossible. So who were the delegates that voted?

"The Notice sent at 8.54 am on a Sunday is clearly insensitive and disrespectful of the religious sensibilities of some of the candidates. 

"At that time, three of the Candidates ought to be in Church and at the minimum would have left Church only after the Primaries had commenced.

"A situation where five out of six Aspirants are disenfranchised and subjected to a charade does not bode well for the Party and should be addressed immediately," the five aspirants contested.

Reacting to the allegation, Adamu Ismaila Numan said, they are just horrible losers. There claims are all false and an attitude that comes with loosing elections.

He explained that, "When the elections process began, the pattern was clear.

"We had earlier agreed to allow our agents to assist those who could not write. 

"The first few that came to vote went to my agents and suddenly they started shouting vote buying. 

"I don't know anything about it,  I did not authorize anyone to act on my behalf in such manner but the process was stopped.

"When eventually the elections was rescheduled I mobilised my agents and delegates and we went to the venue and voted and I won."