APC Stakeholders Insist on Disqualification of Ex-INEC REC as Plateau Governor Candidate
Ahead of the 2023 polls, Plateau State stakeholders from the All Progress Congress (APC) reiterated their call for the disqualification of state gubernatorial flag bearer Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe .
The group under the umbrella of the Progressive Foundation Movement (PFM) argued that the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Sen Abdullahi Adamu to set up Goshwe was in clear violation of the constitution of 1999 and the Electoral Amendment Act of 2022.< /p>
Stakeholders led by Jacob Gyang, Elder Victor Useni and Musa Ardo said in a statement that they were aware of credible reports that Goshwe, who served as Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ), was in the pay of the Makurdi University of Agriculture long after the register of party members was closed.
Stakeholders have warned that the party may not have a valid candidate on the ballot if it remains adamant about Goshwe's candidacy.
They drew the attention of the national leadership of the APC to an earlier petition in which all other aspirants who refused to participate in the so-called primaries that produced Nentawe Yilwaltda Goshwe as a candidate for governor, following of alleged irregularities, vowed to seek justice if the party did not use the window period for the substitution of candidates to make amends.
The group noted among other things: "For the record, we are bona fide members of the APC who are duly registered as required and whose membership is in accordance with the guidelines and constitutions of the APC.
“We have painstakingly anchored the party in the state and further indicated our respective interests in contesting the Governorship of Plateau State under the APC platform and furthermore we have taken all necessary steps, including but not limited to purchasing party nomination forms, believing that the processes leading to the party primaries were not only going to be inclusive, but must be free, fair and credible to so that its conclusion had to be readily acceptable and capable of galvanizing our collective efforts and unity of purpose to secure the overall victory of the party in the state.
"Given the last window of opportunity prescribed by the Electoral Act (2022) as amended. We once again reiterate and support our previous petitions regarding the invalidity of the candidacy of Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe and state unequivocally that unless the party takes urgent and acceptable decisive action to resolve these issues, and they are resolved amicably, we cannot guarantee the party's support for victory in the coming elections for the following reasons:
"That Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, was a staff member of INEC until December 23, 2021, when he would have resigned from his post, but he had not resigned from his post from the University of Makurdi Agriculture, from where he left on secondment.< /p>
“In the meantime, records show that he had been paid a salary until March 2022. He joined the APC on January 6, 2022 when party membership had been closed. All records have been transmitted to the INEC through the State Party Offices He was not qualified to challenge under the APC Platforms unless a waiver was requested and granted and the available evidence does not support the facts that this was respected.
"APC's NEC should have ceded powers to grant waiver and other statutory functions to NWC and it is not recorded that NEC or NWC granted said waiver to him or any aspirant. This remains a moral burden to the APC and an embarrassment to the INEC and all of these facts are in the public domain.
"As the leader of the party in the state, despite knowing and having these facts at hand, the Governor chose to ignore, black-eyed because of his self-interest staff to appease his in-laws and close family members.
“Finally, we expect our great party to respectfully time the clock and act responsibly with the sole objective of party unity, cohesion and victory in the next election if and only if we are to get involved ."
Ahead of the 2023 polls, Plateau State stakeholders from the All Progress Congress (APC) reiterated their call for the disqualification of state gubernatorial flag bearer Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe .
The group under the umbrella of the Progressive Foundation Movement (PFM) argued that the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Sen Abdullahi Adamu to set up Goshwe was in clear violation of the constitution of 1999 and the Electoral Amendment Act of 2022.< /p>
Stakeholders led by Jacob Gyang, Elder Victor Useni and Musa Ardo said in a statement that they were aware of credible reports that Goshwe, who served as Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ), was in the pay of the Makurdi University of Agriculture long after the register of party members was closed.
Stakeholders have warned that the party may not have a valid candidate on the ballot if it remains adamant about Goshwe's candidacy.
They drew the attention of the national leadership of the APC to an earlier petition in which all other aspirants who refused to participate in the so-called primaries that produced Nentawe Yilwaltda Goshwe as a candidate for governor, following of alleged irregularities, vowed to seek justice if the party did not use the window period for the substitution of candidates to make amends.
The group noted among other things: "For the record, we are bona fide members of the APC who are duly registered as required and whose membership is in accordance with the guidelines and constitutions of the APC.
“We have painstakingly anchored the party in the state and further indicated our respective interests in contesting the Governorship of Plateau State under the APC platform and furthermore we have taken all necessary steps, including but not limited to purchasing party nomination forms, believing that the processes leading to the party primaries were not only going to be inclusive, but must be free, fair and credible to so that its conclusion had to be readily acceptable and capable of galvanizing our collective efforts and unity of purpose to secure the overall victory of the party in the state.
"Given the last window of opportunity prescribed by the Electoral Act (2022) as amended. We once again reiterate and support our previous petitions regarding the invalidity of the candidacy of Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe and state unequivocally that unless the party takes urgent and acceptable decisive action to resolve these issues, and they are resolved amicably, we cannot guarantee the party's support for victory in the coming elections for the following reasons:
"That Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, was a staff member of INEC until December 23, 2021, when he would have resigned from his post, but he had not resigned from his post from the University of Makurdi Agriculture, from where he left on secondment.< /p>
“In the meantime, records show that he had been paid a salary until March 2022. He joined the APC on January 6, 2022 when party membership had been closed. All records have been transmitted to the INEC through the State Party Offices He was not qualified to challenge under the APC Platforms unless a waiver was requested and granted and the available evidence does not support the facts that this was respected.
"APC's NEC should have ceded powers to grant waiver and other statutory functions to NWC and it is not recorded that NEC or NWC granted said waiver to him or any aspirant. This remains a moral burden to the APC and an embarrassment to the INEC and all of these facts are in the public domain.
"As the leader of the party in the state, despite knowing and having these facts at hand, the Governor chose to ignore, black-eyed because of his self-interest staff to appease his in-laws and close family members.
“Finally, we expect our great party to respectfully time the clock and act responsibly with the sole objective of party unity, cohesion and victory in the next election if and only if we are to get involved ."
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