Three persons were said to have been killed and nine others injured in various clashes during the primaries of Edo State chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which took place on Wednesday in the state.
According to THISDAY investigation, two of the victims were said to have been shot at Udo in Ovia South West local government area while the third person, a woman, was killed and nine others injured at ward 5 in Akoko Edo local government area of the state.
Besides, fighting broke out at the state secretariat of ACN, along Airport road yesterday in Benin City, among members of the party from Ovia North East local government area of the state, just as another fighting was reported at Esan South-East among the party faithful, over disagreements regarding the conduct of the primaries.
The primaries which were in respect of the state House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and Senatorial seats took off at a slow pace Wednesday as a result of late arrival of election materials in many parts of the state.
Some wards particularly in Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts did not receive any election materials and so the primaries could not hold in those places but results reported to have emanated from such wards.
The primaries where they took place adopted the open ballot system. However, it was learnt that some party leaders allegedly colluded with some party members particularly in Uhunmwode local government area of the state to skew the primaries in favour of their preferred choices by shutting out other aspirants who could not muster the financial strength to post or maintain agents in their respective constituencies.
Additionally, some wealthy aspirants were alleged to have provided financial inducements to party members in many parts of the state, with specific incidences allegedly occurring in Oredo, where an aspirant was said to have given out N5,000 to each of the party members, and at Eguare Primary School, Ekpoma and Uwenuje Primary School, Irrua, where youths were said to have had a free-for-all while scrambling to collect their respective share of the monetary incentive.
Meanwhile, the Edo state chairman of the ACN, Mr. Thomas Okosun, confirmed the killing of one person during the primaries at Akoko Edo local government but said that anyone irrespective of their status found of any culpability in the death or in the perpetration of violence would face the full weight of the law.
The Edo ACN chairman admitted that they were a few places including Esan Central and four wards in Ovia North East where the primaries were inconclusive and that the party had ordered that primaries in those place be taken today (yesterday Thursday), and that they were looking into cases at Urhonigbe North and Urhonigbe South where, according to him, primaries were cancelled.As at press time, results of the primaries had not been officially announced.