Abia APC Primary: Onuigbo Questions Vote Allocation, Cites Party Image Damage

Representative Sam Onuigbo, an aspirant for the Abia Central Senatorial seat under the All Progressives Congress (APC), has issued a stern challenge to those defending the results of the party’s primary election. He demanded that defenders of the alleged fabricated outcomes from the May 18 contest clarify their involvement in the controversial vote distribution.

Onuigbo, a former two-term House of Representatives member and key sponsor of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, insisted that the announced figures were highly questionable. He argued that these results have significantly tarnished the APC’s reputation in Abia State and across the South East zone.

Responding to media criticism regarding his protest against the primary’s conduct, Onuigbo told THISDAY that the negative reports were attempts to distract from what he described as a hijacking of the election process. He urged the individuals behind the attacks to assist the APC National Working Committee (NWC) in explaining how specific vote totals were assigned.

The figures in question include 36,935 votes, 11,457 votes, and 5,833 votes allocated to three aspirants. Onuigbo declared that the contest was not properly conducted in many wards, making such precise allocations suspicious. He pointed out that Abia Central has approximately 59,000 APC members, yet elections reportedly did not take place in several wards across the six local government areas comprising the district.

“Let them help the national leadership of our great party make sense of this puzzle,” Onuigbo said. He questioned how one candidate could receive 36,935 votes when the voting process was absent in most areas.

The former lawmaker also challenged the authors of the disputed results to produce the certificate of return allegedly issued to the declared winner. He said that the APC national leadership had denied printing any certificate of return except for that of President Bola Tinubu.

Onuigbo highlighted the damage caused by the controversy, citing the petition filed by Senator Nkechi Nwaogu. Nwaogu, a senior member of the Sixth and Seventh Senate, complained that no officials visited her Osisioma Ngwa Ward 2 or any part of Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area to conduct the primary. Onuigbo said regret that Nwaogu subsequently left the APC due to what he termed the vexatious denial of her participation.

He accused some desperate politicians within the Abia APC of importing the PDP’s “virus of impunity” into the ruling party. Onuigbo said that this culture of disregarding transparent processes was the same reason he left the PDP for the APC during his second term in the House.

Onuigbo urged the APC national leadership to conduct a thorough investigation into the Abia Central primary. He called for the identification of those responsible for the alleged fabricated figures to rescue the party from further embarrassment. He emphasized that the issue transcends personal ambition, focusing instead on protecting the party’s reputation, internal democracy, and future in Abia Central.