By Chukwudi Obasi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikom/Boki Federal Constituency on Saturday overcame internal disagreements over a proposed consensus arrangement and successfully conducted direct primaries to produce Victor Abang, the member representing the constituency in the House of Representatives, as its candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Abang emerged the winner of the exercise after polling 10,850 votes, defeating four other aspirants in a contest party stakeholders described as peaceful, transparent and reflective of internal democracy.
The primary followed days of political consultations and intense negotiations aimed at producing a consensus candidate, a move that eventually failed to secure unanimous acceptance among aspirants and stakeholders.
Among those who contested the ticket were former Secretary to the Cross River State Government, Tina Banku; Chief Whip of the Cross River State House of Assembly and member representing Boki II State Constituency, Hilary Bisong; former lawmaker, Cletus Obun; Joseph Enu; and former Commissioner for Works, Dan Asu.
Declaring the results at the APC constituency headquarters in Ikom, the returning officer, Eka Williams, said the party adopted direct primaries after efforts to sustain a consensus arrangement collapsed.
According to him, “the process was conducted in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the APC constitution. Party members across the constituency were allowed to decide who should fly the APC flag in 2027 freely.”
He commended party faithful and aspirants for maintaining peace throughout the exercise despite the political tensions that preceded the primaries.
Reacting to his victory, Abang thanked party members for what he described as “an overwhelming vote of confidence” and appealed to other aspirants to support his re-election bid.
“This victory belongs to the APC family in Ikom/Boki. We may have had different interests before the primaries, but now is the time to unite and move forward together,” he said.
Former aspirant, Banku, also congratulated Abang and praised the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
“The most important thing is that the party remained peaceful and members were allowed to participate freely in the process,” she stated.
Similarly, Bisong accepted the outcome and urged his supporters to remain calm and loyal to the APC.
“The party’s decision should be respected in the interest of unity and progress,” he said.
Stakeholders at the exercise said the successful conduct of the primaries had helped calm tensions within the constituency and strengthened the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
