The All Progressives Congress (APC) Election Appeal Committee for the governorship primary in Edo State said it would overturn the result that produced Godwin Obaseki as winner if allegations against his emergence were true.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Opeyemi Bamidele, stated this while addressing newsmen at the party’s secretariat in Abuja in Friday.
He said that the allegations in the petition to the committee against Obaseki, who emerged the party’s candidates at the primary, were weighty and would be thoroughly handled.
Mr Kenneth Imansuagbon and Dr Chris Ogiemwonyi, two out of the 11 aspirants who lost to Obaseki in the primary, petitioned the appeals committee, alleging irregularities in the exercise.
It would be recalled that the committee that conducted the primary election was headed by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, who announced that the process and poll were credible and fair.
Bamidele said: ”Cancelling the primary is not something we will blink an eye to do if necessary. Forensic experts will be invited.
”It is not about any individual; it is about the party, about the electoral process.
“We want to be able to say integrity was not compromised in the whole process.
”It is also not about the number of petitioners but about the issues. They raised very sensitive issues.
”We cannot submit a report until a manual forensic analysis of the ballot papers have been carried out.
”The issue of integrity in electoral process is one that should be taken seriously; justice in this matter must be done, and transparently done.”
Other members of the committee are Mrs Ekwy Onyido and Alhaji Mustapha Salisu.
