Lalong Has no Hand in My Candidature - Hon. Aku

Chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Plateau State, Hon. Abbey Joseph Aku said he is fully in the race of the forthcoming Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency bye-election scheduled for February 26th, 2023 by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

Aku who was the immediate past Commissioner of Commerce and Industry acknowledged that he has purchased a nomination form already.

He made the confirmation while speaking to Journalists in Jos the state capital during the thanksgiving Mass of Bishop David Ajang, the Catholic Archbishop of Nasarawa Diocese, held at St. Michael Parish Nasarawa Gwom, Jos on Thursday.

He said there was no any consensus or sole candidate from Bassa for the bye-election as some people claimed.

Aku opened up following information at the public space that Hon. Lumumba Dah Adeh from Bassa is a consensus candidate vis-a-vis the APC sole candidate for Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency bye-election.

According to him, you would recall after the demise of Senator Ignatius Longjan the seat was ceded to Qua'anpan to complete and equally when we lost Hon. Ezekiel Afon the seat was also cede to Pengana to complete the tenure.

"So this seat of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency it is proper, fair and objective for Jos North to allow Bassa to finish the tenure that is that.

"And for Bassa, there has never been anytime we sat as Bassa to have a consensus candidate for Bassa. What happened was that the party at the state level was holding sway as the chairman of the party that is during the era of Latep Dabang her constituted a committee in both Jos North and Bassa, the committee has one responsibility which was the name that was tagged 'lobbying committee' that was the name given to the committee and I was the member of that committee before I refused myself alongside others.

"It was a lobbying committee to lobby Jos North to allow Bassa to continued. And eventually when the party realized that there are so many candidates that came out from Bassa they now gave the committee additional responsibility as terms of reference to stream the number.

"There was no time the party has given them the mandate to go out  and bring the sole Candidate but to go and stream the number from 18 to the manageable number. So whatever the committee has went and did is outside their terms of reference that is one.

"Secondly, Bassa has three chiefdoms and in those chiefdoms we have Irigwe, Rukuba and Pengana chiefdoms and if there is going to any consensus candidate those chiefdoms must come together and agree on one person and it doesn't happen that way.

"It is not All delegates from the 16 wards of Bassa that participate the mob primaries.11 wards walked out leaving only 5 out of 16 who sat and choose one candidate and it is not possible because five people cannot speak for 11 people. So, that  is why we are saying is wasn't a consensus candidate it was an arrangement....

"And by the way out of ten member committee, seven members resigned from that committee for integrity purpose leaving only three members which they conducted so-called ' mob primaries.' So, is the integrity issue which led to the resignation of some members and such members requested that such process should be discontinued but for whatever reason which best known to those who insisted they went ahead and continue.

"As far as the party is concerned under the leadership of Hon. Rufus Bature did not gave anybody or any committee the opportunity to go and bring the sole Candidate for Bassa.There was no such time", Aku mentioned.

It would be recall that  the seat of Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency remains vacant for almost seven months after the death of Hon. Haruna Maitala.