To this end, the Primary Election Committee set up to oversee the primary, headed by the Kogi State Governor, Mr Usman Ododo, has expressed assurance that the primary would be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.
As of the time of filing this report on Saturday, the committee members are at a hotel in Akure, the state capital, holding an indoor meeting in preparation for the poll
However, election materials have not been distributed while the representatives of the aspirants and electoral officials are waiting around the hotel for the committee to distribute the materials.
While speaking with journalists after meeting with the aspirants present at Saint Thomas’s Event Centre in Akure Friday night, the Secretary of the Committee, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, emphasised that the committee had no predetermined motive but to ensure the credibility of the primary.
According to him, the accreditation of the eligible 172,025 members of the party whose membership had been revalidated will kick off between 10:00 and 11:00 am while voting will start immediately, after which voting will stop by 2:00 pm.
He said, “We expect a seamless exercise, a very peaceful exercise. It’s a family contest. This is not the general election. The only difference here is that this is a progressive state—an APC state. We are determined to ensure that, at the end of the eight years of APC, we are about to start another eight years of another APC administration.
“We believe that whoever emerges as our flag bearer is going to win the general election, and at best, we have been able to assure all of the aspirants that there should be no bitterness.
“We don’t want to contest that at the end of the exercise, we have difficulty bringing everybody together to win during elections. I think everyone is on board. We are not here with any predetermination; it is going to be a free and fair exercise. That is the only directive that was given to us.”
