A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa State, Chief Perekeme Kpodo, has accused the party’s chairman, Tiwei Orunimighe of doctoring the delegates’ list and compelling delegates to vote for a former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva.
According to him, Orunimighe had been taking delegates to the house of a chieftain where they were allegedly asked to vote for Sylva at the primary.
Kpodo stated this in an interview with The Punch on Sunday, decrying the situation and demanding that all aspirants should be given a level playing field during the primary.
He said that forcing delegates to vote for a particular aspirant negated the principles of democracy, adding that if Sylva emerges as the APC candidate, the party would lose the governorship election.
He said: “I want to use this opportunity to advise the delegates not to yield to the manipulation by Tiwei Orunimighe because as the state chairman of the party, he has no right under the constitution to compel delegates to vote for a particular aspirant when you have many aspirants.
“Our position is that the party’s leadership cannot support one candidate; they should allow the delegates to make their choice.
“We got the information that Orunimighe carried delegates to a chieftain’s house and that is exactly what he has been doing, persuading and compelling the delegates, but some of them have been complaining.
“What they have done now is to change the delegates’ list to suit them because of a hidden agenda and that is why they have blackmailed some of us who are supposed to correct some of these problems.”
Kpodo called on the national leadership of the party to intervene in the matter and ensure that delegates were given a free hand to choose the candidate of their choice, warning that attempts to compel delegates to vote for one aspirant would spell doom for the party.
“If Sylva is given the ticket of the APC, the APC will scatter and it will fail woefully in the main election. That is exactly what the opposition is praying for. But if we bring any other credible candidate in the APC, you will see a serious fight. It is a battle. To defeat an incumbent governor, you know what it means.
“Orunimighe, who is driving the whole process for Sylva, is also not a material. Those people who defected to the APC came with their groups and that was why you saw the crowds. They are also a critical factor.”
However, the Media Officer to Orunimighe, Mr. Alawoei Opukume, while speaking to The Punch, slammed Kpodo, saying he was no longer a member of the APC. He added that since Kpodo was not a member of the party nor an aspirant, he had no right to criticise the party.
Opukeme, who described Kpodo as a blackmailer who was bent on seeking relevance, said he had since been expelled by the APC for anti-party activities.
“As far as we are concerned, Kpodo is not an APC member. He is simply an impostor and does not have any atom of integrity,” he said.
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