Keyamo kicks, as Emerhor picks APC ticket for for Delta Central senatorial by-election

The Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo protested on Wednesday as Olorogun O'tega Emerhor emerged the candidate of All Progressives Alliance (APC) for Delta central senatorial by-election.

Keyamo announced his withdrawal from the primaries  describing the exercise as stage-managed and a sham.

All three major political parties in the state, Democratic People's Party (DPP), People's Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) have named candidates  for the October 5, 2013 Delta Central Senatorial bye-election. .

They are Chief Ede Dafinone (DPP), Emmanuel Aguariavwodo (PDP) and Olorogun O'tega Emerhor (APC). They want to succeed Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido who had represented the Urhobo-dominated senatorial district of Delta State until his death recently.

On Tuesday night, Dafinone emerged as the DPP's candidate at the end of a keenly contested primary election in Ughelli, polling 872 votes to beat his closest rival, Sir Godwin Odibo, who garnered 352 ballots.

Chief Napoleon Gbinije came third (229) while Mr. Abel Oharume polled 56 votes in the primary that was supervised by the party's Deputy National Chairman and Secretary, Mr. Gerson Benson and Alhaji A.D. Mohammed.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were also on hand to monitor the primary which ended about 9.55 p.m.

Odibo and Oharume described the primary as free and fair and pledged support for the winner.

However, after the victor was announced, Odibo and Gbinije refused to sign the final result sheets but instead walked out of the venue of the exercise.

Addressing newsmen shortly after signing the necessary result sheets, Dafinone promised not to disappoint the Urhobo if he was eventually elected at the main election.

He appealed to other aspirants to accept defeat in good faith, recalling that he lost the primary to late Chief Ewherido but still worked for his success at the general poll.

Also on Tuesday night, the PDP held a well-attended primary election at Sapele Township Stadium with Solomon Edoja, Chief Andrew Oru, Aguariavwodo and Solomon Udele as aspirants while a total of 354 delegates from eight local council areas in Delta Central participated.

The primary was conducted under the supervision of the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama; PDP Delta Central Vice Chairman, Chief Tom Amioku; top party leaders and INEC officials.

Aguariavwodo polled 334 votes while Udele, Edoja and Oru polled eight, two and seven ballots respectively.

Sam Ukpoko, a member of PDP National Working Committee (NWC) who announced the result, said the election was free, fair and credible.

A major aspirant, Olorogun Andy Osawata, was conspicuously absent while Oharisi Ovie Omo-Agege stepped down from the race at the last minute according to a directive of the PDP leadership.

Another aspirant, Dr. Abel Dafiaghor, had also a few days earlier stepped down for Aguariavwodo who he described as the best candidate.

However, activist lawyer, Olorogun Festus Keyamo, in a statement to protest against the APC primaries, said: 'I am an aspirant cleared by the APC to contest the primaries. I have taken a painful but necessary decision not to participate in the primaries to be organised later today at Ughelli because the whole exercise is nothing but a sham that is packaged, rigged and concocted to favour my opponent, Olorogun Emerhor.

'The following are my reasons:
(1) That the exercise was preceded on September 24, 2013 by registration of limited number of members of APC in Delta State since there were no registered members before now, being a newly-registered party.

(2) That in the said exercise, it was agreed with members of your committee that the slots for the registration cards for the new members would be distributed evenly between former members of the merging parties in each local council area. The said defunct parties are ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of DPP.

(3) That, however, when the materials arrived the venues, thugs loyal to my opponent hijacked the materials, beat up the officials and took the materials to unknown places (outside the approved venues) to fill up the registers and cards. The local council areas where no formal registration took place at all are Sapele, Ethiope West, Ughelli North (which is the local council area of my opponent) and Ughelli South. Partial registration occurred in Ethiope East before the thugs of my opponent disrupted the scene and carted away materials.

(4) That I have met formally with some members of the committee and asked for the outright cancellation of those local council areas where no registration took place at all and for us to proceed with the primaries with the local council areas where registration took place.

(5) That I was however just told this morning by the committee that full registers of registered members have surfaced in local council areas like Sapele, Ughelli North, Ughelli South and Ethiope East with strange names.

(6) That I and my supporters do not know how and when these registers were filed up and membership cards issued. This is because my supporters stayed at the registration venues in these local council areas till late in the night before they went home.

(7)  That in the circumstance, it becomes a worry to me and my supporters to go into a contest where they were not given an equal chance to register to vote for someone of their choice.

(8) That it is disappointing that the committee members of the APC connived openly with my opponent to allow such a brazen rape of free choice and democracy to take place.

(9)  Other open acts of bias on the part of the APC committee are:

(i)  The venues for registration were not known to me and my supporters despite repeated demands, up till about 11.00 a.m. on the day of the registration whereas my opponent's supporters had filled the venues as early as 6.00 a.m.

(ii)  The venue for the sham primaries was not made known to me despite repeated demands until about noon today, whereas my opponent's supporters had thronged the venue as early as 6.00 a.m. today.

(10) In the circumstances, I boldly say that any result that comes out of today's exercise will be a colossal fraud and waste of time. Please, count me out.

'This is a notice that no vote should be cast or counted in my favour in the today staged-managed process.

'A copy of this letter is being sent to the Interim National Committee of the APC.