National Assembly hopeful, Hon. Samaila Aliyu Makarfi, has addressed members of the press following the outbreak of violence and irregularities that disrupted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary elections in Kaduna State.
Speaking on behalf of aggrieved stakeholders in the file named Hon. Samaila Aliyu, the contestant slammed the conduct of the exercise, describing it as an absolute failure of internal party democracy.
A Cry Against Electoral Violence
Addressing the press corps, Sama'ila detailed how hundreds of party faithful were left stranded at official voting centers from as early as 8:00 AM, only for the process to be hijacked by armed non-state actors later in the day.
"We are here because the primary election that was supposed to hold yesterday didn't hold," Sama'ila told journalists in Sama'ila.mp3. "The so-called primary election was characterized by irregularities. There was thuggery, there was result sheet snatching, and all sorts of malpractices."
He explained to the media that while voters waited patiently in Makarfi until 4:00 PM, a distress call revealed that official result sheets had been diverted to an alternative location, where armed thugs subsequently assaulted party officials, tore clothes, and carted away the documents.
Media Briefed on Internal Sabotage
During the press briefing, Sama'ila openly accused the 11-member State Electoral Committee sent from Abuja and certain state executives of institutional bias. He alerted the press to a sharp conflict of interest, stating that at least five members of the committee were openly working to favor a specific gubernatorial aspirant.
He further briefed newsmen on what he termed a stage-managed "mock election" that took place in Zaria between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM. He alleged that the snatched result sheets were used to manufacture fraudulent figures to secure automatic tickets for a favored political clique, which includes a specific gubernatorial aspirant, a House of Representatives candidate, and two State House of Assembly hopefuls.
Ultimatum to the Party Leadership
Sama'ila used the media platform to issue a stern warning to the national leadership of the ADC, noting that the party is on the verge of self-destruction in Kaduna State if the injustice is allowed to stand.
He reminded reporters that many of them had defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) precisely to escape this brand of transactional politics.
Pointing to a recent High Court ruling that extended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) candidate submission deadline to September 30, he warned that a mass exodus of viable candidates is imminent if a fresh, credible election is not ordered immediately.