Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, senator representing Ebonyi North, has defended the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, saying it is normal for some individuals to raise allegations of irregularities after any electoral process.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, the senator said the party had established mechanisms for addressing grievances arising from its primaries.
His comments come amid complaints and protests by some APC members in states including Lagos, Ogun and Ekiti over the conduct of the party’s recently concluded primaries.
“Well, like I said earlier, we are not in heaven, we are on earth,” Nwaebonyi said.
“And in as much as we are on earth, some people must allege an anomaly in every process.”
The lawmaker said the APC operates under clearly defined rules and guidelines which provide channels for resolving disputes.
According to him, the party constituted appeal panels in all states and the FCT to handle complaints from aggrieved aspirants.
“In that guideline, after the primary election committee, we have an appeal panel which is saddled with the responsibility of addressing any complaint arising from the primaries,” he said.
“All these committees are set up in the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT.”
ALL COMPLAINTS WILL BE ADDRESSED
Nwaebonyi expressed confidence that the grievances raised by party members would be addressed through the established process.
“I believe all aggrieved members’ issues have been addressed,” he said.
The senator cited his own emergence as the APC candidate for Ebonyi North as an example of what he described as internal democracy within the party.
He said party members in his senatorial district unanimously endorsed him for another term based on his performance in office.
“Our governor, who is the leader of the party, was so transparent in guiding and midwifing our direct primaries,” he said.
“He asked if anybody had any issue against the sitting senator, and everybody said no.”
Responding to concerns raised by the interviewer about protests by APC members in Lagos and complaints from other states, Nwaebonyi maintained that party members should pursue grievances through constitutional channels rather than public demonstrations.
“If the person has any complaint, he should channel it to the appropriate quarter,” he said.
“Our party constitution doesn’t allow protests as a way of addressing grievances.”
The senator also urged political parties to focus on grassroots engagement rather than social media campaigns.
“Let me charge all political parties to leave politics of social media, go and engage Nigerians in their villages and solve their problems,” he said.
“They will vote for you.”
