TheCable

Eight days after Labaran Maku, the immediate past minister of information, lost the bid to emerge as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa state, he has alleged that the primary election was fraught with irregularities.

Maku, who lost the ticket of the party to Yusuf Agabi, called for the cancellation of the election.

Seven aspirants partook in the election, which was supervised by Adolphus Wabara, former senate president.

But Maku expressed dissatisfaction with the entire process, disclosing that he had submitted a protest letter to the chairman of the governorship primaries appeal panel.

“The PDP in Nasarawa state had written to the headquarters on November 28 to protest against the sudden change of delegates’ lists from Keana, Obi, Lafia, Akwanga, and Nasarawa Eggon local governments,” Zakari Edege, the director of publicity, Maku campaign organisation, said in a statement.

“The chairman of the electoral panel, Senator Adolphus Wabara, following the protest, insisted that he had instructions from the national secretariat to use the altered delegates list for the primaries.

“Maku, therefore, wondered why there were separate delegates lists for the conduct of state and national assembly primaries and the governorship primary.”

The statement also alleged that the conduct of the primary election did not conform with the established guidelines as the number of ballot papers exceeded the number of delegates in the state.

Maku complained that threat and coercion were used to prevent delegates from freely expressing their choice, adding that voting commenced late and went into the night, thereby exposing delegates to danger.

“It is on this premise that I urge you most respectfully to use your good and exalted office to intervene by canceling the gubernatorial primary election held in Nasarawa state,” the statement read.

“I also urge you to conduct another primary election so as to ensure that a free and fair election is conducted in the state.”