Crisis is brewing in Cross River Central as the All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Ikom/Boki federal constituency has threatened to drag the party to court for allocating 24 votes to him even when he was not part of a reported primary election for the constituency seat.
The aspirant, Mr Dan Osim Asu, who is also the Commissioner of Works, demanded an immediate apology from those who allocated the said votes, and described the matter as ’embarrassing ‘
“They went to Ikom and wrote something like the result. I was not there but was in Calabar, yet they wrote the result and put my name there and allocated 24 votes to me. I am extremely angry and bitter about it. Not for a person of my reputation and standing.
“I don’t care how they did it but my grouse is how come I was not there and votes were allocated to me. I reject it in totality. I did not participate in it, I feel embarrassed that my name was there on the ballot. I reject it. How can you shave a man’s hair in his absence?
“So I reject it in totality and if an apology is not tendered to me I will seek a redress for my fundamental human right. I cannot be conscripted into a process where I was not there physically. I feel very bad about it and may seek a legal redress,” he stated.
The party had made two failed attempts at conducting acceptable primary on May 27 and May 28, 2022 for the federal constituency but the issue of delegates’ list and consensus mulled by party leadership marred the exercise.
Worried by this development, the party leadership and government met with all the aspirants.
The Governor, Ben Ayade, reportedly chose Victor Abang as a consensus candidate, a situation which did not go down well with others who reportedly protested.
It was later reported that a primary was conducted with Mr Victor Abang (alias Mature) emerging winner.
Distancing himself from the said primary, Mr Asu, said, “At the meeting with the governor, there was a protest which Edward Ogon said he was not part of a consensus matter mulled by the governor, and according to the law, if there is no consensus, everyone would have to go to the field.
“Later, it was said a primary was conducted and I lost. How can you say I participated and lost? There is no way anybody can put me there that I would loss. They allocated 24 votes to me and 84 votes to the purported winner. They should have gone ahead with their allocation or affirmation without putting my name.”
