One of the four aggrieved aspirants at the recently concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Kogi State, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has accused Governor Yahaya Bello of imposing his cousin on the state. Adeyemi, who appeared on Channels Television’s programme *Politics Today* on Monday, swore that, contrary to the allegedly forged result sent to the party’s national secretariat, no APC primary election was held in Kogi. “The guy (Ododo) who was purported to have won this election is a cousin of Gov Yahaya Bello. There was no election. If we allow this to go on, a time will come when the governor will impose his son on the state. This is the worst form of nepotism,” he said, describing the process as a “rape of democracy.”
The secretary of the election committee, Patrick Obahiagbon, announced former Auditor General of Local Governments Ahmed Ododo as the winner of the governorship primary, stating that Ododo polled 78,704 votes to beat six other contestants, including Adeyemi, who came seventh with 311 votes. Adeyemi, the senator representing Kogi West, strongly disputed the result, calling the entire exercise a charade designed to install Bello’s anointed candidate as governor. “There was no election conducted at all in the whole state. What they did was a selection and manipulation of the people. We were all at home waiting; none of the INEC and APC officials visited my ward. No contestants voted anywhere. For almost six hours, nobody came. Nobody conducted the election. This is a rape of democracy, a treasonable offence, manipulation in the highest order, an ungodly and undemocratic act,” he declared.
He further explained that, as an aspirant, his coordinators were waiting across the state, yet no material was provided to anyone. “They called the chairmen of the local government areas and the party chairman, handed over materials to them, took these to their comfort zones, filled out the forms, and returned them to the APC election committee. There was no election anywhere. Why allow us to buy forms if the system denies people the right to vote? That is not democracy; it is betrayal.” Adeyemi claimed the video footage released showed a staged election with a few residents and local government secretariats brought in to create the impression that a primary had taken place.
Kogi State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, defended the APC governorship election, saying it was not manipulated. He accused Adeyemi of being “economical with the truth” and pointed to video clips as evidence that the election was held. Fanwo urged the four aggrieved aspirants to familiarize themselves with the party constitution. “His statement is quite unfortunate. It’s like a big balloon—one small pin can bring it down. When you lie, inconsistencies appear. Adeyemi said the election did not take place, but when confronted with video, he claimed the counting was faulty. I do not understand what he means by ‘state‑managed elections.’ Those seen in the video were APC members voting,” he explained.
He added that the constitution clearly defines who is qualified to vote: “Party membership comes with responsibilities. You must pay dues and receive receipts, which qualify you to exercise your voting rights. Those who voted were financial members of the party in accordance with the party’s constitution.” Fanwo noted ongoing investigations into complaints that fake membership forms were issued to non‑members to cause trouble on election day. He concluded, “Those people need to go back to the party constitution and get abreast of its provisions; that will help them in their future endeavors.”
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