The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Assembly Primary Election Committee for Taraba state, Mr. Tsenongo Abancha, has attributed the delay in the commencement of the party’s primary election exercise in the state to transportation difficulties from Abuja and the late arrival of election materials.
Abancha disclosed this over the weekend while speaking with journalists in Jalingo, where he apologized to party members and residents for the delay.
“I want to first of all apologize to the people of Taraba for arriving very late. It was not intentional because Taraba is quite far from Abuja and we could not come by road,” he said.
According to him, the only available flight into the state arrived late, thereby delaying both members of the committee and the delivery of sensitive election materials needed for the exercise.
Despite the setback, Abancha assured party members and stakeholders that the primaries would be conducted in a transparent, peaceful and credible manner in line with the APC constitution.
“We are glad that the process is starting in earnest. I want to assure members of the press and the people of Taraba that it is going to be a smooth operation,” he stated.
He further explained that the exercise could extend beyond one day due to the vast geographical spread of the state.
“The process can continue throughout the night and even spill over to the next day because of the long distances involved across the state,” Abancha explained.
The committee chairman also dismissed fears of possible manipulation, insisting that the process would remain open and credible.
“We are going to be transparent, objective, honest and clear with what we are doing. The forms are here and, as you can see, they have not been tampered with,” he added.
The APC in Taraba state has adopted the direct mode of primary election for selecting aspirants contesting House of Representatives seats across the state.
Earlier, the Taraba state APC Chairman, Abubakar Bawa, welcomed members of the committee and pledged the party’s support to ensure a successful exercise.
Bawa expressed confidence that the primaries would be peaceful and would produce credible candidates for the party ahead of the elections.