A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia State and House of Assembly aspirant for Ukwa West State Constituency, Hon. Izuchukwu Noble Ahuruonye, has alleged irregularities and manipulation in the conduct and declaration of the party’s primary election held on May 20, 2026.
Addressing journalists in Umuahia, Ahuruonye insisted that he emerged winner of the primary election conducted across the 10 wards of Ukwa West Local Government Area, alleging that the process was later altered at the party secretariat.
According to him, the primary election was peacefully conducted by the designated returning officer, Hon. Wilson Chukwuma Eze, who reportedly monitored the exercise alongside another official before collating and announcing the results.
Ahuruonye claimed that after the exercise, the returning officer declared him winner of the APC House of Assembly primary election in Ukwa West, adding that the process was witnessed by party faithful, security agencies, and media organizations, including Channels Television, ThisDay, Punch, and local media houses.
He alleged that trouble began when the returning officer arrived at the APC state secretariat in Umuahia to submit the result, claiming that the Abia APC Chairman, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, rejected the result on the grounds that the returning officer assigned to Ukwa West had allegedly been changed.
The aspirant further alleged that another official was later directed to proceed to Ukwa West to produce a different result in favour of another aspirant, Hon. Sylvanus Nwaji.
Ahuruonye narrated that the second official allegedly informed him that he was pressured to leave his assignment in Ukwa East and move to Ukwa West after reports emerged that Ahuruonye had already secured victory at the polls.
According to Ahuruonye, the official allegedly admitted that he was compelled to compile a fresh result sheet in favour of another candidate despite the election already having been concluded.
He maintained that the authentic result from the field showed that he polled 4,451 votes to defeat Sylvanus Nwaji, who allegedly scored 1,076 votes, while other aspirants, Mmemme Christian Ikechi and Ogbu Uchechukwu, scored 1,412 and 301 votes respectively.
Ahuruonye described the eventual declaration of Sylvanus Nwaji as the party’s candidate as a betrayal of the mandate freely given to him by party members in Ukwa West.
He disclosed that his legal team had commenced the process of filing a petition before the party’s appeal committee, expressing optimism that justice would prevail.
The APC aspirant called on the leadership of the party, including the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, to intervene and ensure that the will of party members was respected.
Speaking separately, the returning officer for the election, Hon. Wilson Chukwuma Eze, confirmed that he was officially assigned by the Abia APC Chairman to conduct the Ukwa West House of Assembly primary election.
Eze stated that after monitoring and collating results from the wards, Ahuruonye emerged winner of the exercise and was accordingly declared victorious in line with party guidelines.
He, however, alleged that the party chairman later rejected the result upon arrival at the APC secretariat in Umuahia, despite being the official who assigned him to the exercise.
The returning officer warned that allowing the disputed declaration to stand could damage the image of the APC, insisting that the result announced at the state level did not reflect the outcome of the election conducted in the field.
He appealed to party leaders to uphold justice and democratic principles by recognizing what he described as the authentic result of the primary election.
When contacted by ABN TV, the Abia APC Publicity Secretary, Uche Aguoru, stated that any aspirant dissatisfied with the outcome of the primary election should approach the party’s appeal committee with evidence to support his or her claims.
