2023: Drama As PDP Picks Reps, Assembly Candidate From Primaries

The primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party was filled with drama as state chapters held primaries to pick candidates for House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections.

In Bayelsa and Ondo State, some aspirants were not pleased with the outcome of the process.

The daughter of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Orode, lost the PDP Warri North Constituency ticket to Fred Martins, while the Minority leader of Ondo State House of Assembly, Rasheed Elegbeleye, lost out at the primary to Akintola Olarenwaju.

Orode had seven votes, while Martins who emerged winner, polled 25 votes. Elegbeleye lost his bid to retain the ticket by polling 18 to Olarenwaju’s 22 votes.

Factions loyal to the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and PDP Vice Chairman (Southsouth) Dan Orbih held parallel primaries.

The faction loyal to Orbih claimed its primary was authentic, adding that it was witnessed by officials from the Abuja National Secretariat.

Primaries were not held in Imo and Plateau states, forcing officials to shift the exercise till today (Monday).

Aggrieved members in Akwa Ibom, claimed the ad-hoc delegate congress was manipulated.

One of the aggrieved members, who is the senatorial aspirant for Akwa Ibom South (Eket) District, Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, explained that they boycotted the primaries because they were illegal.

The former chief of staff to the governor, said there is a subsisting matter in court challenging the credibility of the adhoc delegates’ election, which comes up for hearing on Wednesday.

The Osun state chapter of the party experienced drama as some delegates were allegedly abducted by gunmen.

It was stated that the delegates were abducted in Ora-Igbomina, Ila, Ikire, Otan, Igbajo and Akesin communities.

They were released after the primaries were held.

The delegates claimed that they were abducted by people would did not want them to vote for their preferred candidates.

The process was smooth in Sokoto, Enugu and Jigawa states, as candidates contesting for the House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly were picked through consensus arrangements.

The executive committee (exco) of the party in Lagos, under the chairman of Philips Aivoji, called on the National Working Committee (NWC) to cancel the primaries in the Centre of Excellence.

He alleged compromising in the names on the list of delegates.

Aivoji stated this during a press conference attended by governorship aspirants, including Dr. Ade Dosunmu, Mr. Adedeji Doherty, Mr. Jimi Jamal and Gbadebo Rhodes-Favour.

According to a statement released by its National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, the senatorial primary to elect senatorial candidates will hold today.

Bature said in a statement: “The National Working Committee has approved that in the event of unforeseen logistic situations, activities of the senatorial primary may extend to Tuesday, May 24, 2022.”

This article was originally published on Nigeria News