Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has reiterated that fictitious figures were awarded for all the aspirants that took part in the June 26 governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State.

Ngige specifically accused the embattled acting state chairman of the party, Basil Ejidike, and some unnamed persons of being behind the electoral malpractice.

Andy Uba, a former Senator, was on June 27 declared winner of the Anambra governorship primaries by the chairman of the APC primary election panel and governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun,

Despite the controversy surrounding the primary election, Governor Abiodun said Uba emerged the winner with 230,201 votes while his closest rival, Johnbosco Onunkwo polled a total of 28,746 votes.

The APC eventually lost the November 6 governorship election to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Prof. Charles Soludo.

In the governorship election, Uba came a distance third with 43,285 votes while Soludo secured 112,229 votes to win. The PDP candidate, Valentine Ozigbo got 53,807 votes to place second.

Sequel to the loss, the party has been engulfed in an internal crisis leading to the suspension of Ejidike as party chair.

The minister admitted that the controversial primary election was the genesis of the crisis rocking the Anambra State Chapter of the APC.

But, Ejidike accused some members of the party loyal to Ngige and the Managing Director of Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Chief George Moghalu, of being behind his suspension calls and other crisis rocking the party in the state.

Urging warring members of the Anambra State Chapter of the APC to sheath their sword as leaders of the party put heads together for a solution, Ngige said the embattled chairman should look inward and manage the self-inflicted crisis.

The minister, who is the leader of the party in Anambra State advised the embattled Acting State Chairman of the party not to “invent a Trojan Horse but look inwards and manage the self-inflicted tear in the State Exco and Working Committee of the party which has seen many members haemorrhaging.”

Ngige said: “I have been inundated with calls over the unfortunate development in the state chapter of our great party, APC, culminating in the suspension of the Acting State Chairman.

“All these are fallout of the 26th June 2021 heist in which though no primary election held, the Acting Chairman in concert with some persons who did not wish our state chapter well, announced some allocated, fictitious figures for each of the 13 aspirants and declared a winner.

“The situation simmered, festered and resulted in the loss of governorship election. I had watched these developments with disbelief and consternation because this is not the style of the original APC members in Anambra State over the years!

“I wish to assure all members that issues in contention will soon be laid to rest as the critical state stakeholders of the party in the state, will shortly work towards their resolution.

“While we do this however, the embattled Acting State Chairman, Basil Ejidike, is advised to wrap his mind around the self-made fissure in the State Working Committee and work towards a resolution by first telling himself the truth. Creating a phantom Trojan Horse to explain away self-inflicted injury is unthinking.”