From Abel Leonard, Lafia

Barrister Iliya Aliyu, an All Progressive Congress (APC) aspirant in the primaries for the Nasarawa Eggon local government council election in Nasarawa State, has opted out of the contest, dismissing the poll as a joke.

Barrister Iliya disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Lafia on Wednesday.

‘There is nothing like election because of the method adopted by the umpire of the party for the election coming up October 6,’ he stated.

Iliya said the law is clear in regards to the procedure for selecting a candidate for election in local government general election, complaining that the APC from the national level down to the ward has no democratically elected executives.

Explaining that the processes of selecting a candidate for any election would never be done indirectly, the only option available by the constitution of the party is by way of consensus, which would thereafter be affirmed by the congress or direct primaries which is congress adopting a choice of their candidate.

‘The last option is no longer trainable in the circumstance that the caretaker is not even recognised by the constitution of the party let alone giving it the mandate to conduct an election for local government councils so as far as am concern, not just me but the law there was never an exercise,’ he stated.

‘I am the aspirant for the office of the chairman, I was involved actively from the beginning to this point I believed if the process was free fair and legal I would have been the winner because I am the most popular candidate,’ he stated.

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Barrister Aliyu also explained that allowing the exercise to be conducted with the law will give him the ticket, but adopting a method not known to law is an ambush that would not give him the legitimacy that is why he is boycotting the process.

Participating in the process he said, ‘because my participation would give it legitimacy but as a lawyer of my standing I can not give something that is illegal a phase of legality because the law is apt and there a maxim of equity that says he who comes to equity must come with clean hands your act should not be seen as reprehensible otherwise equity will not come to your aid,’ he lamented.

‘I feel that since the process from the on set is illegal I can not participate in something that is illegal and then come back again to begin to cry or ask equity to come to my aid. I know the law that for sure that equity in that circumstance equity would not assist me.’

He added that he would challenge the process, stating whenever a right is infringed it falls on the individual to use everything within his powers to challenge the process legitimately through legal means.

‘This is my right, the right of the electorate not giving the opportunity to participate adding that it is his right to be voted for by his people and was denied.

‘I have every latitude and liberty to challenge the process if not for myself but for the purpose of law and jurisprudence, deterrent and to ensure that in the future no individuals would be deprived of their right,’ he said.

Advising his supporters, the barrister appealed to his supporters to be calm that the law will definitely take its cause saying he does not believe that the law would stay longer as a petition had been written earlier to the leadership of the party expressing concern on how some stakeholders of the party in the council had met and decides to choose a candidate against the wish of the people of the community this he said would make the law quicker and achievable.