Confusion has continued to trail the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Bauchi Federal Constituency seat, as some aspirants and their supporters have begun celebrating alleged victories despite uncertainty surrounding the exercise.
One of the aspirants, Hon. Salisu Sabo, was seen in a viral video leading supporters in a convoy around Bauchi metropolis in celebration of his purported victory.
However, efforts by our correspondent to independently verify results from the 12 wards in the constituency were unsuccessful, while attempts to reach members of the APC electoral committee for clarification proved abortive as of press time.
Although the distribution of election materials commenced smoothly at the APC state secretariat on Saturday morning, reports from several wards indicated that voting failed to commence as electoral officials were absent from many centres.
At Baba Sidi and other wards visited by our correspondent, party members were seen waiting for hours under the sun without sighting election officials, while many eventually left the venues in frustration by evening.
Some party stakeholders alleged that no proper primary election was conducted, amid claims that the party was considering the adoption of a consensus candidate, a move said to have sparked dissatisfaction among other aspirants.
Meanwhile, supporters of the only female aspirant in the race, Hon. Badiatu Inuwa, have rejected the outcome of the House of Representatives primary election, insisting that no election took place anywhere within the constituency.
Speaking with DAILY POST on Sunday, they described the process as flawed and riddled with irregularities, alleging that party members waited for several hours at designated centres without the presence of electoral officials.
According to the supporters, the situation undermined internal democracy and disenfranchised thousands of loyal APC members across the constituency.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to make any official announcement regarding the outcome of the primaries.
Confusion, protests trail APC Bauchi Federal Constituency primaries amid disputed process