Nassarawa Council Polls: Chairmanship Aspirant Dares APC, Calls Primaries Joke, To Challenge Outcome In Court

By Abel Lafia

A chairmanship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the primaries of the local government primary election for Nasarawa Eggon Local government council of the state, Barrister Iliya Aliyu, has opted out of the primaries, saying the election is a joke and does not have a foundation.

Barrister Iliya disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in lafia, saying the exercise was laughable insisting that there was no primary election as far as the chairmanship elections is said to be conducted in Nasarawa Eggon local council.

“There is nothing like election because of the method adopted by the umpire of the party for the election coming up October 6.”

Iliya said the law is very apt and clear as far as the procedure for selecting a candidate for election in Local government general election, adding that the APC from the national level down to the ward has no democratically elected executives.

Explaining that the processes of selecting a candidate for any election would never be done indirectly, the only option available by the constitution of APC is by way of consensus thereafter would be affirmed by the congress or direct primaries which is congress adopting a choice of their candidate.

“The last option is no longer tainable in the circumstance that the caretaker is not even recognised by the constitution of the party let alone giving it the mandate to conduct election for local government councils. So, as far as I am concern, not just me but the law, there was never an exercise.”

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Adding that whatever exercise that took place is an exercise in futility.

“It has no foundation and whatever does not have a foundation is a baseless thing in the eyes of the law,” he said

“I am the aspirant for the office of the chairmanship. I was involved actively from the beginning to this point, I believed if the process was free, fair and legal, I would have been the winner because I am the most popular candidate.”

Barrister Aliyu also explained that allowing the exercise to be conducted with the law will give him the ticket, but adopting a method not known to law is an ambush which would not give him legitimacy that is why he is boycotting the process.

Participating in the process he said “because my participation would give it legitimacy but as a lawyer of my standing I cannot give something that is illegal a phase of legality because the law is apt and there is a maxim of equity that says he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Your act should not be seen as reprehensible otherwise equity will not come to your aid,” he lamented.

“I feel that since the process from the on set is illegal I cannot participate on something that is illegal and then come back again to begin to cry or ask equity to come to my aid. I know the law that for sure that equity in that circumstance equity would not assist me.”

Adding that he would certainly challenge the process, saying whenever a right is infringed it falls on the individual to use everything within his or her powers to challenge the process legitimately through the legal means and by all means possible to bringing back the said infringed right.

“This is my right, the right of the electorate not giving the opportunity to participate, saying that it is his right to be voted for by his people and was denied.”

“I have every latitude and liberty to challenge the process if not for my self but for the purpose of law and jurisprudence, deterrent and to ensure that in the future no individual would be deprived of their right.”

Advising his supporters, the Barrister appealed to his supporters to be calm that the law will definitely take its cause, saying he does not believe that the law would stay longer as a petition had been written earlier to the leadership of the party expressing concern on how some stakeholders of the party in the council had met and decided to choose a candidate against the wish of the people of the community.

This, he said would make the law quicker and achievable.