Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State on Tuesday rejected the result of last Saturday’s state congress which produced a two time member of the House of Representatives, Mr Bala Bantex as the state party chairman, describing the entire exercise as a charade.
Addressing journalists at the party secretariat on behalf of other chairmanship aspirants, Mr Joshua Ephraim, one of the aspirants, explained that the results of the congress that were announced by the state congress committee did not in any way reflect the wishes of the delegates who voted during the exercise.
He however insisted that the election should be cancelled by the party’s national leadership to give room for a fresh congress where delegates will freely elect party officials of their choice.
But the newly elected chairman of the party, Mr Bala Bantex described the election that brought him and other officials into office as keenly contested and free and fair.
He urged the other aspirants to bury their grievances and join hands with him in order to move the party forward, adding that his emergence as chairman will propel APC to victory in 2015 elections.
And with barely two days to the party’s national convention, observers say unresolved issues emanating from state chapters of the party will determine the success or failure of the convention.
The Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, had last week said the party will hold a rancour-free National Convention.
The party, he said, would examine the complaints and protests over the congresses in some states.
Akande said state chairmen who emerged outside the party’s guidelines would be thrown out.
He was speaking in Abuja during the inauguration of the newly-elected 35 of the 37 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chairmen.
The APC interim chairman also said issues about the just-concluded state congresses would not be swept under the carpet.
He was reacting to the protests at the ceremony on the outcome of the congresses in Abia and Ebonyi states.
