Protest erupted yesterday at the Anambra State Government House, also known as the Light House, Awka, over the outcome of the primary election of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Thousands of protesters from Oyi Local Government Area of the state stormed the Government House with placards bearing different inscriptions, calling on the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to intervene in what they described as brazen rigging of the Oyi State Constituency primary election.
The protesters claimed that while a popular candidate, Hon. Innocent Ojike, also known as Ojicam, won the election, they were surprised to find that the party announced another aspirant, Kosisochukwu Ibemesi, as the candidate to represent the party for the Anambra State House of Assembly election next year.
Since APGA held its party primaries last Saturday, several groups and aspirants have rejected the outcome, alleging that the processes were manipulated in many constituencies, while those who emerged victorious have praised the exercise as transparent.
The State Auditor of APGA, Hon. Uchenna Oraegbunam, who led the protesters, said: “We are here for a peaceful protest to let our governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, know some of the things that happened in Oyi State Constituency last Saturday.
“We had a very peaceful process and elections were declared, and Ojicam, Hon. Innocent Ojike, the current member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, was declared winner. We were all confident that he was going to win because we know he is popular.
“We were all surprised that when the party released the names of candidates that were successful, what we saw was the name of Mr. Kosisochukwu Ibemesi. This is a surprise to us and we want anyone who said that Ibemesi won the election to come and prove it.”
Oraegbunam described the development as embarrassing, insisting that such should not happen in his constituency.
The protesters marched from the Anambra State House of Assembly through the Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square and ended at the Government House, where they sang protest songs to register their discontent.
Some of the placards read: “Please Bring Back Our Popular Candidate, Ojicam,” “Mr Governor Do Not Let This Happen In Oyi,” and “Our Candidate For The Election Is Ojicam, He Won The Election.”
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Okechi Vincent Egbuna, who addressed the protesters, assured them that Governor Soludo would look into their complaints, noting that the governor believes in fairness and justice.
He also advised the protesters to document their grievances in a letter and forward copies to the governor, the party leadership and the appeal panel, assuring them that their demands would be addressed.
David-Chyddy Eleke
