Ahead of the September 19 governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State, one of the leaders of the party, Chief Perekeme Kpodo, has accused the party chairman, Tiwei Orunimighe, of doctoring the delegates’ list and compelling delegates to vote for a former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva.
Kpodo, who is a factional chairman of the APC in the state, said Orunimighe had been taking delegates to the house of a chieftain where they were allegedly asked to vote for Sylva at the primary.
The APC chieftain, in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, decried the situation while urging that all aspirants should be given a level playing field during the primary.
He said that forcing delegates to vote for a particular aspirant negated the principles of democracy.
Kpodo said that if Sylva emerges as the APC candidate, the party would lose the governorship election.
He said, “I want to use this opportunity to advise the delegates not to yield to the manipulation by Tiwei Orunimighe because as the state chairman of the party, he has no right under the constitution to compel delegates to vote for a particular aspirant when you have many aspirants.
“Our position is that the party’s leadership cannot support one candidate; they should allow the delegates to make their choice.”
“We got the information that Orunimighe carried delegates to a chieftain’s house and that is exactly what he has been doing, persuading and compelling the delegates, but some of them have been complaining.
“What they have done now is to change the delegates’ list to suit them because of a hidden agenda and that is why they have blackmailed some of us who are supposed to correct some of these problems.”
The APC chieftain called on the national leadership of the party to intervene in the matter and ensure that delegates were given a free hand to choose the candidate of their choice.
He warned that attempts to compel delegates to vote for one aspirant would spell doom for the party.
Kpodo stressed, “If Sylva is given the ticket of the APC, the APC will scatter and it will fail woefully in the main election. That is exactly what the opposition is praying for. But if we bring any other credible candidate in the APC, you will see a serious fight. It is a battle. To defeat an incumbent governor, you know what it means.
“Orunimighe, who is driving the whole process for Sylva, is also not a material. Those people who defected to the APC came with their groups and that was why you saw the crowds. They are also a critical factor.”
When contacted, the Media Officer to Orunimighe, Mr. Alawoei Opukume, slammed Kpodo, saying he was no longer a member of the APC.
He said since Kpodo was not a member of the party nor an aspirant, he had no right to criticise the party.
Opukeme described Kpodo as a blackmailer who was bent on seeking relevance even though he had since been expelled by the APC for anti-party activities.
“As far as we are concerned, Kpodo is not an APC member. He is simply an impostor and does not have any atom of integrity,” he said.
Efforts to get former governor Sylva on the phone by 1pm and later by 6.40pm to react to the allegations were not successful as his mobile phone indicated it was switched off.
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