The declaration of John Owan Enoh, in the last couple of hours, as the winner of the All Progressives Congress, APC, gubernatorial primaries in Cross River State, appear to have further thrown up the confusion that continues to rock the party in the state, going into next year’s general elections.
Ali Magaji, Chairman of the Committee sent by the National Working Committee of the APC, declared, Enoh, who polled 82, 272, winner, while his closest rival, former Culture and Tourism minister, Edem Duke, came a distant second with 7,367 votes.
But, Chairman, Collation Committee of the party in the state, Emmanuel Anom, had earlier declared Niger Delta Affairs minister, Usani Usani, winner of another gubernatorial primary, conducted by a faction of the APC in Cross River State with a total of 47,313 votes while Owan Enoh got 14, 860 votes.
Pressed for answers, Presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla, a lawyer, maintained that Usani’s emergence is “plain mischief and ignorance of the Law ! The Law is well settled that only the National Executive Committee of a Political Party has the power to conduct Primary Election to nominate candidates for the office of President ; States Governors ; Membership of the National Assembly and States Assembly . It goes without saying that any Primary Election conducted by a State Executive Committee of a Political Party is unconstitutional , illegal , null and void. This proposition was given judicial approbation by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday, the 16th day of December, 2011 in Suit No: SC.157/2011”.
Reacting too, a source in Usani’s faction who pleaded anonymity, told www.calitown.com that, ” they can use all the semantics at their disposal but we all know that Usani Usani is the authentic gubernatorial candidate of the APC in CRS and that cannot be disputed. We are getting ready to face and defeat Ayade in the general election and we cannot be distracted by mercenary elements who think the APC is a political fishing ground for the actualisation of inordinate political ambitions. We will take our time and approach the issues carefully and lawfully, but Usani is who the party is going with. Discard any other arrangement.”
It does appear that the next couple of days will be eventful for the APC in the state, a party described as being “at the centre in Nigeria but shredded in Cross River.”
