By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab
Fresh details have emerged on how the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) outmaneuvered aggrieved aspirants by proceeding with the submission of the party’s candidates’ list to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after rejecting what party sources described as a fake result sheet from the Kogi West Senatorial Primary Election.
According to sources familiar with the development, the disputed result sheet purportedly declared as winner an aspirant who had earlier withdrawn from the race before the conduct of the primary election.
The document was subsequently subjected to scrutiny by the APC NWC and reportedly rejected for failing to align with the authentic records generated from the exercise.
Party insiders disclosed that the NWC found it difficult to reconcile how a candidate who had formally withdrawn from the contest could emerge as the winner of the primary election, a development that reportedly raised serious questions about the credibility of the result sheet presented before the party leadership.
Following its review, the NWC reportedly dismissed the document and relied on results recognized by the party’s electoral committee and other duly authenticated records in determining the candidates whose names were eventually submitted to INEC.
The decision paved the way for the APC leadership to conclude the compilation of candidates’ names and forward them to the electoral commission within the stipulated timeframe, effectively frustrating efforts by some aggrieved aspirants who had hoped the submission process would be halted pending the resolution of their petitions.
Sources within the party described the move as a decisive step aimed at protecting the integrity of the primary election process and preventing what they termed an attempt to alter the outcome through unauthenticated documents.
While supporters of the recognized winners have hailed the NWC’s action as a victory for due process, dissatisfied aspirants are said to be considering further legal and political options in pursuit of their grievances.
The controversy has once again highlighted the intense struggle for political influence within the APC in Kogi State, particularly in Kogi West, where the senatorial primary election has remained a subject of fierce contestation.
As of the time of filing this report, the APC National Secretariat had not issued an official statement on the matter.
However, party insiders insist that the NWC’s rejection of the disputed result sheet was unequivocal and that the candidates’ list submitted to INEC was based solely on authentic, verified and duly recognized primary election results.
With the alleged fake result sheet—which placed a withdrawn aspirant in first position—now rejected and the winner of Kogi West primary election, Senator Sunday Karimi and other candidates’ names successfully submitted to INEC, attention is shifting to whether aggrieved aspirants will accept the party’s decision or seek redress through other available channels.
