Kogi govt accuses Sen Adeyemi of lying about APC gov’ship primary

The Kogi State government, on Monday, defended the conduct and outcome of the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, insisting that it was not manipulated contrary to claims by Senator Smart Adeyemi.

The state government stated this in a statement by the state Commissioner of Information And Communications, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo.

Fanwo, who was reacting to claims by Adeyemi, one of the aspirants that contested at the primary, accused him of being economical with the truth.

The commissioner, who said all the video clips of the exercise are enough evidence that the election held, urged the four aggrieved aspirants to get themselves acquainted with the Constitution of the party.

Fanwo said: “His (Adeyemi) statement is quite unfortunate. Let me compare this issue to a very big balloon. A big balloon is a lie that a small pin is enough to bring down. That’s exactly what has happened because when you lie, there will be some level of inconsistency in what you say. Adeyemi said the election did not take place. But when he was confronted with a video of the election, he said the counting was faulty. I do not understand what he meant by state-managed elections. Those he saw there (in video) were party members of the APC, and they came out to vote.

“Meanwhile, our constitution made it very clear as to who is qualified to cast his vote. The fact that you belong to a party does not make you a full member of that party. You can’t be a nominal member of the party if you’re not taking any responsibility.

READ ALSO:Senate swears in Smart Adeyemi as Senator for Kogi West

“Your membership in any party also comes with responsibilities. You must pay your dues, and when you pay your dues, you are issued with receipts. These are the things that qualify you to exercise your right as a party member. So those who came out and were able to vote were the financial members of the party in accordance with the Constitution of the parties.

“He said the primary didn’t hold anywhere. By showing videos of where the primary actually held, it has shown that all Adeyemi has been saying is not true.

“We are still investigating. There are complaints to the party right now that some fake membership scripts were issued to people that were not even APC members to come out and foment trouble that day.

“So what these people need to do is to go back to the Constitution of the party, get themselves abreast of the provisions. That will help them in their future endeavour.”

Ripplesnigeria had reported that Adeyemi faulted the primary election, describing it as a rape of democracy. He also insisted that no election took place across the state and that the state governor, Yahaya Bello only imposed his cousin on the state.

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