From Mary Obi
Thousands of aggrieved members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) from Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State on Friday stormed the Anambra State Government House in Awka, protesting what they described as the manipulation of the party’s House of Assembly primary election for Oyi Constituency.
The protesters, comprising party faithful, youths, elders, and stakeholders from the area, called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene and restore what they termed the “authentic mandate” of the incumbent lawmaker representing Oyi Constituency, Hon. Innocent Ojike, popularly known as “Ojicam.”
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Soludo, Protect APGA Integrity,” “Return Ojicam’s Mandate,” “Our Votes Must Count,” “We Demand Justice, Not Political Fraud,” and “Bring Back Our Popular Candidate, Ojicam,” the demonstrators accused some party officials of subverting the will of the people by allegedly replacing Ojike with another aspirant, Mr. Kosisochukwu Ibemesi, after the primary election.
The protesters marched from the Anambra State House of Assembly complex through Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square to the Government House, chanting solidarity songs and demanding justice.
Addressing government officials during the protest, APGA State Treasurer and Oyi stakeholder, Chief Uchenna Oraegbunam, alleged that the results announced by the party did not reflect the actual outcome of the election conducted in the constituency.
“We are here on a peaceful protest to draw the attention of Governor Chukwuma Soludo to what transpired during the Oyi State Constituency primary election,” Oraegbunam said.
“Hon. Innocent Ojike won the election and was publicly declared winner at the council headquarters in the presence of party stakeholders and government officials. We were therefore shocked when another result surfaced two days later, declaring somebody else the winner.”
According to him, the revised figures released by the party contained discrepancies that could not be justified by the number of accredited voters recorded during the exercise.
He cited Ward 4 in Nteje as an example, claiming that only 230 voters were accredited for the House of Assembly, Senate, and House of Representatives primaries combined, yet the revised result allegedly credited Ibemesi with 425 votes.
“We do not know where those figures came from. The same electoral officer conducted and signed the result sheets for all the elections. We have documentary and video evidence of the original results declared at the venue,” he stated.
Oraegbunam warned that if the alleged electoral fraud was allowed to stand, it could damage APGA’s credibility and weaken the party’s support base in Oyi Local Government Area.
Another stakeholder, Barr. Innocent Kelechi, said the primary election in Ward 5 was peaceful and transparent, insisting that Ojike emerged winner before party members and electoral officials.
“Before the primary election, Governor Soludo assured party members of a free, fair, and credible process. What happened in Oyi is completely contrary to that promise,” he said.
Kelechi alleged that the original results from his ward showed Ojike polling 318 votes against Ibemesi’s 136, only for another result to emerge later claiming the reverse.
He accused some government and party officials of complicity in the alleged manipulation of the exercise and urged the governor to intervene in order to preserve the integrity of APGA.
The protest adds to growing discontent trailing APGA’s recently concluded primaries across Anambra State, with several aspirants and support groups alleging irregularities and manipulation in the process. However, some candidates who emerged victorious have defended the exercise as transparent and credible.
Responding on behalf of the state government, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Vincent Okechi Egbuna, urged the protesters to remain calm and assured them that Governor Soludo would look into their grievances.
Egbuna advised the aggrieved party members to formally channel their complaints through the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms, including petitions to the governor, APGA leadership, and the party’s appeal panel.
He noted that party faithful should avoid actions capable of embarrassing the party publicly, but assured them that the governor remained committed to fairness and justice.
The protesters, however, maintained that they had already written to both the governor and the state leadership of APGA without receiving any response.
At the end of the protest, the petition was formally handed over to the Deputy Chief of Staff for onward delivery to Governor Soludo.