By CHARLES IWUOHA

Erstwhile Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam, has raised an alarm over an alleged plot by agents of the government in Ebonyi State to scuttle the gubernatorial primary election scheduled to hold on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in the state.

Mbam, who is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, disclosed this in a statement signed by Engr. Paul Okorie and made available to journalists in Abakaliki.

He said: “It has come to the knowledge of the campaign organization of Engr. Elias Mbam, of the plans to scuttle the gubernatorial primary election in Ebonyi State scheduled to hold tomorrow, Thursday 26th May 2022 by agents of Ebonyi State government.

“You will recall that the governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, endorsed the embattled Speaker as his preferred gubernatorial aspirant against the wishes of the generality of Ebonyians and the party.

“In his failed attempt to arm-twist and force the All Progressives Congress to accept Mr. Nwifuru and close up the political space against all other aspirants in the state, the governor has now decided to rock the boat and destroy the party in Ebonyi State by the use of nefarious means.

“The Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, through his lawyer, Bar. Roy Umahi, who is also the state retainer and the governor’s immediate elder brother, took the All Progressives Congress to the Federal High Court Abakaliki, to scuttle the scheduled gubernatorial primary in Ebonyi, against the laid down rules of the party that all aggrieved members should first explore and exhaust all the party’s internal conflict resolution mechanisms to address any such grievances.

Mbam alleged that the preferred successor of the governor, Nwifuru procured thugs from other states of the federation to scuttle the gubernatorial primary election.

“Credible intelligence available to us alleges that agents working for the embattled Speaker has procured thugs from Enugu, Abia, Cross River and River states, some of which are already in the state, in liaison with his local vigilante, with the plan to attack and cause mayhem at the venue of the gubernatorial primary tomorrow to ensure that it does not hold and prevent perceived opponents from attending.

“We, therefore, call on the National Chairman and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to take note of the antics of the state government and their desperate efforts to destroy our party in Ebonyi which may cause the PDP to have an easy win come 2023.

He, however, called on security agencies to intervene “We plead with the security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Military to take notice and ensure that the life and safety of Engr. Elias Mbam, other aspirants, their supporters, party faithful and delegates are guaranteed and protected,” he stated.

In a swift reaction, the state chairman of the APC, Stanley Okoro Emegha, debunked the allegation and blamed Mbam for not participating in the activities of the APC in the state.

He said: “How can people scuttle the gubernatorial primary election? Are we not running an open-door policy? Mbam called the state party chairman, and he claimed that he is contesting for the governorship. Has he ever asked the party any question and we didn’t answer him?

“If he needs clarity, he should come to the Party secretariat and we will inform him of anything that he feels that he should know. How can he say that we want to hijack the election when he didn’t participate in our programmes.”

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