If you are a follower of political events in this country then this should amaze you, We all have been talking about democracry and we felt the PDP has done pretty bad with the stories of rigging here and there, then a party came and it has a slogan that says democracy for ever, but looking at the fall out of their recently concluded primaries one would wonder are we in a democratic set up yet ? or we are all still playing to the gallery? please read this story and make your own comments.

ACN State, House of Assembly and National Assembly primaries is a fraud
The primary elections of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, across the country have been marred by violence, intimidation and imposition of candidates, my checks nationwide have shown.
In controversial consensus arrangements, candidates for the April general elections have emerged in some states, most times, against the will of the majority of the electorate.
It was learnt that some popular candidates who enjoyed the support of the electorate were forced to withdraw for endorsed candidates.
Candidates who refused to withdraw were disenfranchised while the endorsed candidates were selected by godfathers instead of being elected by the electorate as it obtains in any democratic process. This has led to protests in many parts of the country.
Former Director General of the Center for Democratic Studies (CDS), Prof.Omo Omoruyi described the House of Assembly and National Assembly primaries of the Edo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, as a fraud.
In Oyo State, all the governorship aspirants were summoned to a secluded hotel at the Nigerian Breweries area of Ibadan where the leadership simply announced to them that the ACN leadership, particularly, Bisi Akande, the national chairman, had resolved to present Abiola Ajimobi as the consensus candidate for the 2011 governorship election.
The leadership did not stop there. They also came with a list of names of their anointed candidates for all elective posts in the state, and only wanted the congress called to ratify them.
The flames that started the crisis that eventually consumed the Alliance For Democracy have one real live source with multi-dimensional outlets. And the one “real live source” was ignited on January 1999, when the AD had its closed primaries. In what has been referred to as the night of the long knives, a group of 23 “old wise men” simply chose former presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae, rather than allowing a primary between him and Chief Bola Ige, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The move was the genesis of the disintegration of the Afenifere, a socio-political group and the Alliance for Democracy (AD), as Ige joined the Olusegun Obasanjo-led PDP government after the 1999 presidential election. This move which was condemned by the Afenifere leadership eventually led to the death of Bola Ige.
Bola Tinubu also benefited from the influence of those old men. At the Lagos AD Primaries, Many AD members claimed Funso Williams won at that time, but Chief Ayodele Adebanjo signed the papers for Bola Tinubu as the winner.
Again, today, Funso Williams is no more, brutally assassinated just like Bola Ige. And like Bola Ige, his killers has never been found.
In this year of our Lord 2011, in this 21st century, it would seem that history is repeating itself in Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, a reincarnation of AD.

Lagos State

The Action Congress of Nigeria in Lagos State may be heading for an internal crisis that might go a long way in affecting the fortunes of the party in the April elections. Members of the party are already expressing their opinions about what has been termed the imposition of candidates by a certain ‘group of Power Brokers’.
The crises of the ACN are about the soul of the party and exorcising Bola Tinubu's enormous grip on it.
In Ekiti State, the primaries conducted in Ekiti Central Senatorial district were annulled by the State Chairman of the Party, Mr. Jide Awe because Awe favoured a candidate who lost out and therefore he annulled the elections.
He escaped being lynched by party faithful who invaded the party’s secretariat in Ajilosun Area of Ado Ekiti. The enraged supporters, mostly youths, demanded that the results be validated in the district.
At the primaries held at the Lagos ACN secretariat, Acme Road, Ogba delegates elected the wife of former Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, Ganiu Olawale Solomon, and Gbenga Ashafa, Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau as candidates to contest election for the Lagos Central, Lagos West and Lagos East Senatorial Districts, respectively, in the April polls.
Mrs Tinubu will fly the banner of the ACN in Lagos Central Senatorial District; Ashafa in Lagos East and GOS, Lagos West Senatorial District.
In several venue for the primary, there was tension as the atmosphere was very rowdy. Many of the ACN members openly complained of imposition of candidates and vowed to protest against it.
According to Alhaja Kafilat Sholaja from Epe constituency, “I don’t know my representative; they just imposed somebody on us. It is bad. This is not democracy at all and we are going to resist it.”
An INEC official at the ACN House of Assembly and National Assembly Primaries discredited the result of the primaries. The official said, “the candidates emerged under questionable circumstances. After you media were asked to leave the election venue, we were equally ordered out while the officers took the ballot boxes into a room. Later they came out with a paper where the results were written and asked us to sign which we refused.
“It took the mercy of security personnel to see us safely to our cars and as I speak, the result sheet is in our office and we have officially written our reports.
“The absence of agents for aspirants which the party did not allow was the first indication that all is not well with the election,” he added.
Accorsing to Seun Kolade, “Whatever criticisms we have about PDP primaries, and there's so much to criticise, including massive bribes behind the scenes, the one positive thing is the open manner in which votes are being counted. The ACN, which is supposed to be the party of change, is way behind in terms of openness and internal democracy”.

The ACN by the events of the past one week has proven itself to be anti-democratic and utterly draconian; pandering to the rule of one man. According to a Lagosian, "It is an insult on the citizens of Lagos state that Mrs Tinubu or anyone else could be imposed on a constituency by her husband, unopposed”.
He continued; I don't know how anyone would see what's going on in Lagos state politics and not come out disgusted, not just Lagos state citizens.
With the recent escapades of Mr. Tinubu, I'm still at a loss how the Asiwaju has turned Lagos state politics/ACN into his personal fiefdom.
Dr Ola Kassim in his reaction said, The Lagos state ACN is being run like a cult or Mafia. This is not true democracy!"
Apart from the flawed procedures of the ACN primaries and the way and manner, Mrs Tinubu was rubber stamped and imposed as the Senatorial candidate, I believe she is qualified as a bonafide citizen of Nigeria and resident of Lagos state to run for any office in the land regardless of her being married to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
However, Mrs Tinubu`s candidacy has been undermined (tainted and diminished) by the manner in which she secured her Senate ticket for the ACN, notwithstanding the fact that she might in fact be very well qualified for the position she is seeking to occupy.

Anambra State

The situation was the same in ACN Anambra Primary where Dr Chris Ngige, like Chief Bola Tinubu in Lagos State has constituted himself the alpha and Omega.
The result of the Primary held in Anambra South showed that CID Maduabum scored 3169 while Benchuks scored 820 votes in the ACN House of Reps primary. (see full detail of result here), same happened in the Senatorial race where Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah was replaced by Sir Chris Atueqgu despite Senator Obiorah's overwhelming victory,
Dr Chris Ngige , “let out his anti democratic bent by Unilaterally changing the result! He has arbitrarily declared Ben chuks winner with 820 votes over CID with 3,169. Can you beat that? Let’s see how the ACN democratic claims prove true in this saga”, I was told.
When asked why the results were changed, Ngige’s camp defence was that Ben Chuks has been with ACN since 2007 and loyal too. “One cannot jump from PDP to ACN overnight and win the primaries. Besides, the Supreme Court has ruled that a political party has the right to impose a candidate. So there is nothing wrong if ACN via Ngige imposes Ben Chuks”
However, Benchuks having been in the Party since 2007 and whether it is right for someone to jump from PDP or elsewhere into ACN and just win the party primaries "just like that" is irrelevant once they have been accepted as bona fide members of the party and nomination forms sold to them to enable them contest.
Is it justifiable to give Benchuks Victory he didn’t merit simply because he has been a party member since 2007?
When the aggrieved members threatened to take the matter to the ACN National body Ngige said “Tinubu will not tell him what to do in Anambra as nobody interferes with him in Lagos”.
Tinubu is now used as a reference point an aggrieved ACN member lamented, adding; “Must we support an "undemocratic move" by Dr Chris Ngige because he is emotionally attached to Benchuks and Atuegwu? In ACN with their democratic postulations, one would expect that the electorate decision is ultimate in an electoral process? Should we support scoring of cheap political goal in a moral goal post?”
Another place where confusion and violence were recorded last week over the ongoing primaries of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is Ekiti State, with many people reportedly injured in some parts of the state and two persons clamped into police cell.
The matter took a dangerous dimension when party loyalists who allegedly felt they were being short-changed by the absence of party officials to conduct the primaries resorted to self help

Edo State

The primary elections conducted by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to elect contestants into state and federal houses of assemblies was also violent in Edo State as three persons were reportedly killed and nine others seriously injured in clashes in various parts of the state.
Reports had it that two of the victims were shot at Udo, Ovia South West local government area while the third person, a woman, was allegedly shot dead and nine others injured at ward 5 in Akoko Edo local government area of the state.
A security source also said a KIA vehicle belonging to the Akoko Edo local government was burnt during the bloody fracas.
Fighting and violent protests erupted and raged among the party faithful, all resulting from disagreements regarding the outcome of the conduct of the primaries.
Election materials were allegedly not supplied to some wards, particularly in Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts and so the primaries could not hold in those places, and yet results emanated from such wards.
At polling stations where elections took place through the open ballot system, however, it was learnt that some party leaders allegedly colluded with some party members, particularly in Uhunmwode local government area of the state, to skew the primaries in favour of candidates of their choice by shutting out other aspirants who lacked the financial strength to post or maintain agents in their respective constituencies.
It was also gathered that some aspirants provided financial inducements to party members in many parts of the state,with specific incidences occurring in Oredo, where an aspirant gave out N5,000 to each of the party member; and at Eguare Primary School, Ekpoma and Uwenuje Primary School, Irrua, where youths were said to had a free-for-all while scrambling to collect their respective share of the monetary incentive.
The result of the the state and National Assembly primaries, the Edo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN]election was then announced FORTY- EIGHT hours after its conduct amid frustrations, condemnations and protests by party members who accused the leadership of the party of skewing the results to favour certain aspirants.
The party state ACN publicity secretary, Chief Dan Owegie, did not give any reason for the delay in releasing the result of the primaries.
A university lecturer, Prof Mercy Obamogie, who contested for the Edo South Senatorial ticket, described the actions of the leadership of ACN as despicable, saying that she rejected the announcement of Uzamere as the winner of the primaries in its entirety.
Speaking in similar vein, Edo State Commissioner for Arts and Culture, Hon. Abdul Oroh, who sought for the party’s ticket to represent his Owan people in the House of Representatives, alleged that voters were financially induced and intimidated; saying that the outcome of the primaries was pre-arranged. Oroh lost to Pally Iriase, Secretary to Edo State Government.
Similarly, protesters from Oluku Ward 6 in a letter signed by its chairman, Elder Samuel Obazee, said there were defined irregularities on the part of those who came to conduct the primaries in the ward.
These irregularities prompted former Director General of the Center for Democratic Studies (CDS), Prof.Omo Omoruyi to describe the House of Assembly and National Assembly primaries of the state chapter of the ACN as a fraud, explaining that the exercise was marred due to the alleged ambition of a top official in the state to take over power from Governor Adams Oshiomhole at the end of his tenure.
He alleged that “there is a secret cult going on and if you are not in it you cannot succeed and that is what happened to my Dr Festus Imuetinya, my elder sister’s son whose name disappeared from the ballot paper”.
Omoruyi, who spoke to newsmen, while reacting to the exclusion of his nephew from the list of those contesting for the House of Assembly seat in Orhionmwon Local Government Council, asserted that “ I just read the list of those elected in the ACN Primaries and I want to say that thing is fraudulent.”
In describing his ordeal, Hon Patrick Obahiagbon who lost ACN house of Reps. primaries in Benin City to Rasak Bello Osagie lamented: ''This has made me suffused With Emotional Narcolepsy That The Homo Sapiens In The Metro-political Geographical Enclave of Edo Have Opted For Owanbe-ing Over Legislative Quomodo Dicis. Such A Reckelss Display Of Narcissistic And Flamboyant Hedonisim Is CapableOf Encumbering Our Nascent Democracy With Insidious Repercussive And Cataclymic Exingencies''

Kwara State

In Kwara State, suspected arsonists attacked the home of Pa Rahimi Popoola, father of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chairmanship candidate in Offa, Kwara State, Saheed, destroying property worth several thousands of naira.
The 82-year-old man, along with his equally aged wife, were forced to escape through the window at the back of the house during the incident. The house, main sitting room and some other rooms were burnt during the invasion.

Oyo State

The action of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oyo state chapter was comical. As members gathered at the Olubadan Stadium, Ibadan, to elect candidates to fly their flag for the state's elective positions in the forthcoming 2011 general elections, Younger members of the party threw decorum to the winds as they shouted down their leaders, who came to conduct the elections.
Earlier, speculations on the attempt to imposed candidates on members by the leaders spread ominous signs across the state.
When candidates visited the party state's secretariat to collect forms, they were turned back on the excuse that the forms were not available yet. That was just a day to the commencement of the screening exercise for the aspirants.
Later, rather than screen the aspirants and allow them to go and test their popularity on the field, A five-member screening committee, headed by Adeyeye Olatoye told the seven governorship candidates, who came for the exercise, to meet the leadership of the party in Lagos, by 12 noon the following day.
Though, the agenda of the meeting was not announced, it became obvious that it had to do with the rumoured effort of the leadership to pick a candidate among them without going for the primaries.
Finally, all the governorship aspirants were summoned to a secluded hotel at the Nigerian Breweries area of Ibadan.
The leadership summoned them to announce to them that the ACN leadership, particularly, Bisi Akande, the national chairman, had resolved to present Abiola Ajimobi as the consensus candidate for the 2011 governorship election.
The leadership did not stop there. They also came with a list of names of their anointed candidates for all elective posts in the state, and only wanted the congress called to ratify them.
The announcement, understandably, did not go down well with other aspirants, who felt cheated by it.
According to NEXT, Storming out of the hotel, other aspirants, Olufemi Lanlehin, Adesoji Akanbi, Kazeem Adedeji, Ismail Adewusi , Wole Oyemakinde, and Wale Akinboade wore dejected look.
"They have announced Ajimobi. They told us that was the decision of the Chairman. That is after the promises to give all aspirants fair ground to contest. Is this the kind of fairness they had promised us?, asked one of the aspirants.
The disappointment was not limited to the governorship candidates. At the stadium where the list was presented for adoption, members roundly rejected the idea, insisting that they would prefer proper primaries.
Interestingly, the rejection also came from supporters of Ajimobi, who came in large numbers to savour the victory of their leader.
Other governorship aspirants and most of their supporters boycotted the venue of the primaries after being told of the decision of the party leaders.
Already, fears were mounting on the possible consequences of the action on the party's chances in the next election. Some of the aggrieved members were openly announcing their readiness to work against the party and ensure that it loses in the next elections.
A gubernatorial aspirant, Olufemi Lanlehin said that the party was yet to get a candidate for the next governorship election. He said the party's primary election did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the party's constitution.
An Ibadan ACN Member summarised his position thus: In 2003, The AD failed because it did not recognise loyalty. The AD, before the election, became a conclave of narrow interest. It became impervious to rational reasoning. The AD was turned into a gerontocracy while a few old men were stifling the strength of the youths. Eight ( years on, the ACN has inherited the ugly trait, Let's see how they will win Oyo state, I dey laugh!