NDC candidate calls for fairness in Delta Reps primary results

A House of Representatives candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Delta State, Julius Akbovoka, has written to the party's National Executive Committee. He wants transparency in how the results of the primary election are handled.

Akbovoka spoke on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja. He said the results from the different voting centres should be reflected in the final outcome of the primary election.

His appeal comes just days after the NDC said it was not responsible for various results from its nationwide primaries that were shared on social media.

On Sunday, the party's National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, told the public to ignore those results. He said only the National Executive Council can announce the outcome of the primaries held on May 28 and 29.

Akbovoka explained that he decided to speak to journalists because he had not received any official confirmation about the primary election results from the party.

He joined the NDC on April 30 and took part in the party's activities, including its convention and membership registration.

"I am not asking anybody to alter figures in my favour. My appeal is that the results recorded during the exercise should be properly reviewed and treated according to the party's rules and procedures," he said.

The aspirant also mentioned that he consulted with former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, and former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, about the issue.

According to him, both leaders advised him to keep using the party’s internal dispute resolution processes.

Akbovoka is confident in his support from the grassroots. He urged the NDC leadership to maintain transparency, fairness, and democracy within the party.

He mobilized thousands of members into the party across the constituency and later bought the expression of interest form to run for the House of Representatives seat.

Akbovoka, who is a former local government chairman, stated that he was screened and cleared by the party before the primary election took place across the three local government areas in the constituency.

He presented figures he claimed came from the voting centres. Akbovoka said he received the highest number of votes during the election.

He reported that he got 1,205 votes in Ughelli North, while his closest rival had 205 votes. In Ughelli South, he claimed to have secured 350 votes compared to another contestant who had 285 votes.

He insisted that the election was conducted in front of security personnel and party officials. He added that he has documents and reports to support the figures recorded during the election.