Senatorial primary: Removal of Umahi’s name error from INEC – Ebonyi APC chair 

Ebonyi state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Stanley Okoro Emegha, Monday, said the removal of Governor David Umahi’s name from the senatorial candidates’ list was a minor error from the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

The news of Umahi’s name being removed from the INEC list saturated the air over the weekend and a letter was said to have been written by the Ebonyi APC chairman requesting the commission to add Umahi’s name to the list.

Responding to the letter, Emegha in a telephone interview said the error has been corrected by the same INEC.

He said, “It’s not writing a letter, I went there it was a minor error from the INEC side and it has been corrected.

“There was nothing like that, the governor’s name did not come, it wasn’t coming from the party, the necessary things were done, and the stepping down of the two candidates that contested for that senatorial elections was there with the party and INEC. 

“INEC was invited for the re-conduction of the primaries because there was enough time for the party to re-conduct another primary election that will usher in another person. The re-conduction of the election was done, the video clips are there, and all the necessary security agencies and the ministries that were supposed to be there were there on the day of the re-conduction of the senatorial candidate primaries of APC in Ebonyi south. 

“And then a panel was set up at the national secretariat  Abuja and they arrived we took them to Afikpo which is the venue for such conduct, they did all the necessary things, the delegates that were supposed to participants of the primaries were all there.

“Anybody carrying any news is on his own. But I went to Abuja, I called them and asked why I’m seeing and hearing such stories on social media. They traced it and saw where it was coming from and it was immediately corrected.”

Speaking on the reason for the re-conduction of senatorial primaries of Ebonyi south, Emegha noted that Austine Umahi pulled out to concentrate on his business.