APC Primary: Youths Invade Secretariat, Vow To Sack State EXCO

Angry APC youths and women on Monday took over the party Secretariat along Airport Road in Benin City demanding the sack of the State Working Committee (SWC) led by acting Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, whom they alleged was bribed by an aspirant but since they could not deliver the aspirant, they are now discrediting the exercise.

They also alleged that some of them have been bribed by some opposition parties to destroy the party.

Led by the Youth leader of the party, Tony Adun popularly known as Kabaka, the angry protesters forced their way into the offices and brought the furniture, bags of rice and other equipment and vowed to stay at the building for seven days.

He said “We heard that some people collected money from the opposition and some aspirants and want to use that opportunity to destroy the party. The information that reached us is that they went to collect money from the opposition to destroy our party. They did it before, they sabotaged and betrayed us in the election.

“What we are hearing now is that because their preferred aspirant did not win, they want to destroy the party. Yet even if 100 persons contest in an election, only one person will emerge as the winner and one person has emerged. The election was conducted peacefully even when they tried to hold a parallel congress, they did not succeed.

“We the youths and women are saying that this is our time and a youth has emerged as the candidate of the party. We will resist any attempt to change it.

“I want to send a message to the NWC that since the SWC can disobey what the NWC wanted, they need to be suspended from the party and if that is not done, nobody will enter this secretariat again.

“We all voted with our membership cards on the day of the election and we all voted for Hon Dennis Idahosa, they are trying to sabotage our efforts but we will not allow it.

“It is ‘Youth o’ clock’ and that is what we have been crying for, God almighty has done it and anybody who wants to change it, we will resist it because we constitute 75 per cent of the voting population here.”

Also, speaking on behalf of the women, a woman leader from Ikpoba-Okha local government area, Mrs Esther Okpera said they were supporting the action of the youths because it is the youths and women that participate in elections.

She said “On election day, you will see women carrying their children under the sun and rain while we will not see the men, now we are saying no. Look at our state secretariat, you will see bags of rice yet our women are buying one cup of rice for N400 and we are seeing the rice.

“It is the youth and women that own the election. Politics is about openness, when you are open to your people, they will follow you and we want to win this election in September.

 

For all those who have collected dollars, they don’t care whether we win or we don’t win. We have not collected anything. All we want is to win the election of Mrs Esther Okpera.”

When contacted on the allegation, the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Uwadia Igbinigie said an official reaction of the party would be made on the development at the appropriate time.