An aspirant in the African Democratic Congress, ADC, House of Representatives primary election for Agaie/Lapai Federal Constituency, Khalid Abubakar Gimba, has called for the cancellation of the exercise in some wards, alleging widespread irregularities during the conduct of the primaries.
Mr Gimba, while addressing journalists at a press briefing, alleged that electoral materials meant for Duma Zago Ward arrived several hours late despite party members and supporters waiting from morning to cast their votes.
He claimed that the delay was deliberate and aimed at undermining the credibility of the exercise.
The aspirant also alleged that before voting commenced, agents of an opposing camp approached his team with proposals to share votes without conducting an actual election.
According to him, his camp rejected an initial offer of “175 votes out of 580” as well as another proposal of “250 votes.”
“I refused to attach my name to a result manufactured in a room rather than expressed at the ballot box,” Mr Gimba said.
He maintained that accepting such an arrangement would have amounted to disenfranchising party members who turned out to participate in the democratic process.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Gimba Campaign Organisation, Muhammad Salihu Jiya, alleged that the situation in Agaie was similarly marred by irregularities, as voters reportedly waited for electoral officials who did not arrive until evening.
Mr Jiya alleged that tension escalated among supporters following rumours that electoral materials had been intercepted.
According to him, at a filling station owned by Baba Shehu, where party officials had gathered, the Lapai ADC chairman informed them that some individuals allegedly attacked officials transporting election materials and carted away the materials.
He further alleged that when voting was expected to commence the following day, electoral officials arrived at some ward centres without official result sheets.
Instead, he claimed, they came with ordinary exercise books and loose sheets of paper.
Mr Jiya said agents and coordinators deployed across the 11 wards confirmed the absence of standard election materials, prompting the campaign team to reject the process.
“As a result, the primaries did not hold in Agaie,” he said, adding that the campaign possessed video evidence and testimonies from officials allegedly confirming the absence of authentic result sheets.
The campaign team also alleged that compromised electoral materials and irregular registers were discovered in some wards across Agaie, describing the incidents as part of organised interference in the ADC primary election process.
Mr Gimba called on the ADC leadership at the state and national levels to nullify results from wards where voting allegedly did not take place or where electoral materials were said to have been compromised.
He also demanded the establishment of an independent inquiry panel to investigate the allegations and recommended that a fresh, transparent and properly supervised primary election be conducted in all affected wards.
Despite the controversy, the aspirant reaffirmed his loyalty to the ADC and urged the party leadership to safeguard the integrity of its internal democratic process.
