There is no end in sight to the crisis rocking the Plateau State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the local government congresses of the party have stirred fresh controversy.
In the latest crisis, the party chairman, Damishi Sango, is been accused of imposition of candidates by youths from Kanam local government.
The youths stormed the party office in Jos, the state capital, demanding the resignation of Sango.
The protesters alleged a clandestine move by the chairman and other leaders to impose Mr Funturu Domnan as chairman of the party in Langtang South council.
The youths came to the PDP office with placard with many inscriptions. Some of them read: ‘We oppose tyrannical tendencies;’ ‘the days of impunity are over;’ ‘election is the answer;’ ‘operation restore PDP in Langtang South;’ ‘Sango conspired with Abdul Ningi to kill PDP;’ ‘united ever, divided never;’ ‘We need a leader and not a ruler;’ ‘The truth must prevail;’ and ‘Sango must do the right thing.”
An aspirant, Hon. Nanpol Joseph Dadi, said the congress in Langtang South did not hold because of insecurity, alleging that there was a plan to impose his opponent as the chairman of the PDP.
His said: “We heard that the chairman of the PDP, Hon. Sango, is abaut to declare Funturu Domnan as the chairman of the party in Langtang South. We have come to complain to the state executive of the party as law abiding citizens of the state.”
According to him, the chairman should not impose any body on the chapter, stressing that the purpose of their visit was to prevent imposition.
A chieftain, Yaknan Miri, said the chairman was working against the progress of the party, alleging that he was being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the PDP in Langtang South.
Miri called on the national leaders of the party to, as a matter of urgency, conduct a fresh congress in the council
However, Senator Abdul Ningi said the facts on ground did not justify the conduct of a fresh congress in Langtang South.
He appealed to stakeholders to close ranks, build a team spirit and rally round the local government executive to move the party forward in the area.
The Deputy Chairman, Hon Amos Gombir, who addressed the protesters, commended the peaceful protest and assured them that there was no plan to impose any aspirant as the party chairman.
He assured that their petition would be looked into, with a view to addressing the contending issues appropriately in the interest of the party.
Tag: imposition
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Plateau PDP chairman accused of imposition
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Akinnola: imposition impossible in APC
Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Akinyinka Akinnola spoke with reporters in Lagos on his plans for the state and other partisan issues; Excerpts:
You are from Ondo central senatorial district like Governor Olusegun Mimiko. Will that not affect your chance at the primary?
I expected some kickbacks from some quarters with regards to my coming from the central senatorial district but I was encouraged by the party’s open declaration that there would be no zoning. Overwhelmingly, people are more interested in what aspirants have to offer and their ability to administer the state in such a way as to bring the desired change to their lives. This is reflected in the support I have received and our organizational spread across all local governments in the state. The reality is that from llaje in the south to Akure in central and Akoko in the north, we are all plagued by the same issues of poverty, unemployment, poor infrastructure and a general insecurity. People are looking for a problem solver with experience and vigour. They are looking for a departure from the past.
You are professional and businessmen. How would you contend with politicians who many believe are more experienced in political brinksmanship?
The game has changed. The terrain is different now. There is no secrecy as to who the delegates for the primaries are and all aspirants have had an opportunity to visit and engage delegates in all the local governments. Political brinkmanship is of little value here as the people are generally tired of this also. If the primaries in Edo are a standard for what is to come in Ondo, the secret ballot system of voting also reduces the issues of intimidation. The citizens of Ondo are also very enlightened, they see and hear what is happening in other progressive states where people with professional and business experience have taken the helm and brought their skills to bear on good governance. Everyone is clear that the issue now is one about governance and not politics for the sake of it without adding value to people’s lives.
There are fears and agitations in the state about the possibility of imposition of a candidate by the APC leadership in the state. What is your view on this?
I tend not to bother too much about such issues and focus on my objective. I am fairly confident that there will be no imposition, but different leaders may have a preference for certain candidates. This is their prerogative. That is not the same as an imposition. It is now up to the delegates to make their choice. Aspirants waiting to be anointed or who are positioning themselves without putting in the hard work will be very disappointed. There are just under 3000 delegates and as we speak now still over 20 aspirants in contention. It’s going to be very interesting.
What are you bringing to the table as an aspirant?
I have brought youth and vigour, and reawakened the concept of inspirational leadership. I also constantly preach the message that this is a competition and not a war and thus, promote peace, especially amongst our youth. I come to the table with 32 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, infrastructure development and general commercial activity and management. I represent a new breed of leaders who understand that it’s about service and not rulership, willing to demystify the office by dropping the pomp and pageantry and addressing the running of government with a businesslike purposeful and result-oriented approach.
What has been the most important thing you have learnt in politics?
I realize that there is an absence of the best people of this country involved in seeking for elected office and it is reflective on the current predicament we are all in. Nature abhors a vacuum. The elite of this country complain the most but do the least to move it forward. This needs to change. Regardless of what happens I believe I have earned the right to complain.
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PDP Convention: Mark warns against impunity, imposition
A head of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, former Senate President David Mark, yesterday, cautioned party leaders to guard against impunity or imposition of candidates.
Mark recalled that the defeat of the PDP in the general election was self inflicted on account of imposition of candidates and impunity.
A statement by his Media assistant said the former Senate president spoke at a meeting with executive members of the Benue State chapter of the PDP in Otukpo.
It said Mark noted that “it is incumbent on our leaders and members to allow the popular will of the people prevail at the congresses and convention.”
The statement said Mark urged PDP members to remain steadfast, just as he frowned against defections at will because of the challenges.
Mark stressed that such inconsistencies neither enhances the democratic culture nor the integrity or credibility of politicians who defect.
He said: “ If we must uphold the sanctity of democratic culture, we must follow the path of honour like the Democrats and Republicans in the United States of America or the Labour Party or the Conservatives in the United Kingdom, who hold on to their political ideologies, no matter the odds”.
Mark restated that no matter the challenges, he will not leave the PDP, a platform he said afforded him the opportunity to contest and win elections since 1999.
He reminded party faithful to work hard in the days ahead as credible opposition and overcome the challenges.
The statement noted that Chairman of the state party, John Ngbede, who briefed Mark about affairs of the party, said the party now works as one family.
It said Ngbede listed one of their challenges as cash, and appealed to Mark to help address the issue.
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‘Imposition of candidate may hinder PDP’s victory in Ondo’
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State have warned that the imposition of the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice may spell doom for the ruling PDP in the state.
In a statement, they said there was no time they endorsed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Eyitayo Jegede as a governorship aspirant of the party.
The statement signed by 27 PDP leaders reads: “Governor Olusegun Mimiko should learn from the imposition of candidates in 2015 general election which made the party to lose the presidential and National Assembly elections across the state.
It is regrettable that Ose Local Government has never been considered for any of the four topmost jobs since the creation of the state 40 years ago. We have presented one of us, Mr Thompson Aiyegunle as candidate for the November 26 poll.”
The PDP leaders also called for urgent need to reassess the position of the party.
They noted with displeasure the continuous growth in number of aggrieved followers, stressing that appropriate steps should be taken before the party’s primary elections.
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NBCC cautions agencies on fine imposition
The Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has called for restraint among government agencies, following the recent wave of sanctions imposed on corporate organisations across the globe, including Nigeria.
It said cognisance should be taken of the contributions of affected companies to the nation’s economy. The Chamber has also advised the Boards of regulated companies to take their oversight functions seriously by ensuring strict compliance with regulatory requirement.
Its President, Prince Dapo Adelegan, in a statement, urged regulatory agencies to be wary of imposing destructive fines on companies contributing significantly to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said the regulators must be mindful of sanctioning companies into comatose with the implications of such sanctions on employment, revenue generation from taxation, and the determination of the government to diversify the nation’s economy from one dependent on oil.
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Ondo: When imposition is not imposition
Elections anywhere in Nigeria have never been routine and seamless endeavours. Nigerians have these eerie feelings of not knowing what to expect whenever elections draw near in the nation most specifically in some states such as Ekiti and Ondo. This collective unease may have had its roots in the murder and mayhem that characterized the 1982 governorship election in Ondo State that comprised the present Ekiti State. It was the state’s governorship election which resulted into a socio-political conflagration that consequently consumed the Second Republic. Nigerians’ worldview that these two states are probably the most recalcitrant in the nation as well as the most troublesome in the South-west may have been revalidated with the deployment of an unprecedented, mind-boggling rigging formula now known as Ekitigate that crystalized into Ayo Fayose’s second coming. With these states, the more things change the more they remain the same. You never know what will happen when it comes to elections. There seems to be something fundamentally disturbing in the stars of these two states that predisposes them to stunted growth when their sister states in the region are doing just fine in accordance with the time-tested progressive political agendas of the region’s progenitor. They’re light years behind their ‘siblings’ in many facets of development despite their relatively higher human capital endowment, no thanks to the “two whitlows” that presently rule the roost in the region that had applied the brakes on the developments of these states.
The governorship election in Ondo State scheduled for November 26 has made virtually every happenstance in the state to be newsworthy. In an election that promises to be a straight fight between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), the usual claims to the governorship throne and its associated grandstanding by sub-ethnic groups within the state has never been louder. Perhaps the loudest claim to the Alagbaka Government House is supposedly from the Akure indigenes whose ancient city is ironically where the governorship seat is constitutionally situated. And this clamour for the governorship throne is being championed by none other than our paramount ruler, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, the Deji of Akure. As an Akure indigene who not only believes that how much a group gets in the distribution of political appointments must be proportional to the group’s voting strength and the deployment of same for electoral victory, but also that there has been a deliberate disenfranchisement of Akure indigenes in the state’s political scheme of things, an outcry for a governor from Akure at this particular juncture is a misguided proposition.
There seems to be something eerily sinister about this whole clamour from The Deji when one juxtaposes his emergence to the traditional throne, which could not have been possible without the support of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, with the political IOU that must of necessity be redeemed by a Machiavellian political operative of no mean repute with evil proclivity to boot. Mimiko is a deft political operative who’s acutely aware that his party stands no chance if Akure people should give their votes en bloc to the opposition. It’s therefore not inconceivable that one of the governor’s calculations is to arouse the emotions of the Akure people in order to split their vote right down the middle. Once he’s rest assured about this split, the governor, known to be ruthless in extracting electoral victory by any means necessary, can always deploy the tested rigging template of Rivers and Bayelsa states that includes murder and mayhem into the mostly riverine areas of the South Senatorial district where elections are always challenging because of the terrain.
Granted that Akure indigenes have largely been deliberately shut out of the state’s main power equation for so long, our seeming insistence that our son/daughter must become the governor in the next political dispensation or nothing is counter-intuitive, if not counter-productive. For Akure to allow itself to be deceptively cajoled by the governor through his Akure surrogates should PDP lose would be the equivalent of committing a collective political hara-kiri that may take a long time to bring us back from the ‘dead’. Akure people cannot afford to seriously split their votes at this defining moment to allow the Peoples Democratic Party that has proved beyond measure that its only interest in power is to steal – to win. It is bad enough that Ekiti State may have to live down another four years of arrested development being presided over by Ayo Fayose.
Nigeria is presently at a critical juncture in her socio-economic and political adventures where she must clearly break with the past for the attainment of her destiny with the progressive political agendas that are carefully and meticulously being laid by President Muhammadu Buhari of which the South-west is particularly at the epicentre. It’s therefore counter-intuitive for any state in the South-west from this point to revert to the past that has not only stunted its growth for decades but a past that is glaringly in disrepute. More importantly, the South-west regional economic integration is a unique developmental paradigm that only the political cohesion of the region can bring to fruition in a relatively short time.
The recent announcement by the Ondo State Chairman of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Isaac Kekemeke that “there is no room for the imposition of an anointed candidate in the party” is a double-edged sword that may have negative unintended consequences depending on how the ‘sword’ is handled. As much as this statement cannot be faulted in a representative democracy, it’s inconceivable not to expect that a party trying to position itself as a serious political platform with an identifiable political ideology as its core, more so when evidence abound that it had been badly, and still being bruised and trampled upon by many of its own members because they were left to their own devices in attaining power, should not be interested in who emerges to carry the party to lofty heights in accordance with its ideology and manifesto. While this position should not be misconstrued as supporting the type of imposition that was prevalent in the past, the fact remains that piloting the process for a candidate to emerge out of its preferred aspirants by the South-west leadership of the All Progressives Congress is, and should be inevitable.
In a primitive political environment that must of necessity give birth to a weak political architecture such as we have in the country –and the Southwest is no exception –in which both the political class and the electorate, for the most part, have mercantilist predisposition in how electoral decisions are made regardless of the negative consequences for them in the near future, it is necessary to begin the evolvement of a new political culture.
For instance, how can the party and the electorate be better served with an APC governor who has not only ‘slept’ with every political parties that ever existed and had demonstrated that party supremacy and cohesion makes no sense to him, but had also bought his way into victory through monetization of the delegates when there’re others such as Segun Abraham, Rotimi Akeredolu, Jumoke Anifowoshe, Ajayi Boroffice, Comrade Shola Iji, among others, who has been consistent in the progressive movement and had sacrificed their material and moral resources for the enhancement of party? Loyalty should have its privileges. While the imposition of an “anointed candidate” by a single individual must be jettisoned forthwith, the leadership of a party that has brought into fruition an alliance that some of its detractors became cocksure would not work –based on historical antecedents – that they had asked to be called bastards, vowed to change their names or go into voluntary exiles if it did, not to talk of the high achievers it had thrown up as governors in the geo-political region, should reserve the right to decide the right candidate to fly its flag within the framework of a free, fair and credible election primary that may not necessarily be for all aspirants. Those aspirants whose original mission is to cause disaffection in the party, thereby reducing its positive standing before the electorates will still shout imposition regardless. It’s a typical case of damn if you do and damn if you don’t.
- Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com
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INEC, others sued over ‘imposition’
All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Delta South Mr Temisan Omatseye has re-filed a suit at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory against the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and others over the alleged imposition of a candidate.
He is challenging the alleged imposition of Prince Yemi Emiko as the APC’s candidate for the senatorial zone.
The plaintiff through his lawyers had filed a discontinuance notice to the initial suit at the Federal High Court.
It followed a Court of Appeal ruling that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain a matter in which the major reliefs sought are not against the Federal Government or any of its agencies.
The plaintiff, through his lead counsel, A.C. Ozioko, said he contested and won the APC primary election held last December 8.
But rather than his name, that of the third defendant who he said came second in the primary was sent to INEC purporting him to be the winner contrary to APC’s guidelines and constitution.
Omatseye said having won the primaries, he is the lawful Senatorial candidate of the APC in the 2015 general election for Delta South Senatorial District.
He is praying the court to hold that the APC is bound to submit his name to INEC as its candidate having won the primaries.
The plaintiff urged the court to declare that INEC’s acceptance, recognition and publication of Emiko’s name is illegal; as well as sought an order of injunction restraining Emiko from parading himself as the candidate.
The new suit has been assigned to Justice A.S. Adepoju.
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PDP members protest alleged imposition of candidate by Fayose
Aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State are protesting the alleged imposition of a candidate on them by Governor Ayodele Fayose.
They have sued the party.
The members, who are House of Representatives aspirants, are Cyril Fasuyi, Dotun Onipede, Victor Bamidele and Banji Oyinloye.
They said in a suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja that Fayose was working with the party to “impose Chief Thaddeus Aina on us” as the House of Representatives candidate for Ekiti North Federal Constituency.
The plaintiffs are praying the court to declare that no valid primary election known to the party’s constitution, its guidelines for primary elections and the Electoral Act, took place as scheduled on December 6 last year to select a candidate for Ekiti North Federal Constituency.
They seek an order compelling the PDP to organise and announce a new date for the primary election for the selection of a candidate for the Ekiti North Federal Constituency.
The plaintiffs named the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a defendant.
Onipede, who deposed to the supporting affidavit, said they were cleared for the primaries, having obtained the nomination forms.
He said on December 7 when the primary election was to hold, everyone was at the venue, only for the organisers to produce election materials in the evening.
Onipede said the election was later postponed when visibility became difficult about 7:30pm.
He said while postponing the primaries, the Youth Leader, Taiwo Olatunji, promised that a new date would be communicated to members.
Onipede said when they did not hear from the party in relation to the new date, they appealed against the non-holding of the primary to the Election Appeal Committee and later the National Working Committee, but got no response.
On Friday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, G. Uche, urged the court to hear the case in view of the fact that time was of the essence.
He said the elections were fast approaching and the issue about primary ought to be concluded.
Uche said the defendants were served on December 23 last year but chose not to file any response.
Justice Evoh Chukwu acceded to the defendants’ request and adjourned till Wednesday for hearing.
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Chieftaincy tussle: Lagos family petitions Fashola over alleged imposition
The Maja family, have petitioned the Lagos State Government demanding for an end to the unfolding drama over the purported installation of a Baale (local chief) in Baiyeku community, in Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.
They demanded that the man parading himself as the Baale be stopped, arrested and prosecuted for flagrant disobedience of the judicial process.
Representatives of the aggrieved family – Chief Nojeem Muka Maja, Mr Olawale Maja, Alhaji Kamoru Oteju and Mr Muri Maja – claimed that they also have equal right to the stool and asked the government to put a stop to the moves being made by a particular family to perpetuate itself as the sole lineage.
Mr. Maja, who spoke on the development in Igbogbo, told reporters that the installation of one Saheed Tajudeen Aleje, (of the Ajibode family, which has turned the stool to personal property), as Baale was “illegal, null and void.”
According to him, there was no authorisation from the government or the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs or the Igbogbo-Baiyeku LCDA, or Ikorodu Local Government.
Maja, who is one of the claimants in the suit filed by the family on October 16, 2014, at the Ikorodu Division of the High Court of Lagos State, described as shocking that the Ajibode family, a party to the suit, could go ahead on December 30, last year, to install the Baale of Baiyeku without waiting for the disposition of the case in court.
He listed the reliefs being sought by his family to include a declaration ; voiding the registered chieftaincy declaration of February 25, 1986, on the grounds that it does not represent the true law and custom regulating the selection and appointment of Bale of the village; that the Maja family is entitled to be selected and appointed as Bale; a declaration that it is the turn of the Maja family to present candidate to be installed as Bale and an order of perpetual injunction retraining the state governor and government agents from taking steps leading to the selection; the appointment and installation of anybody as Baale of Baiyeku and an order of injunction restraining the Ajibode family being defendants from appointed, installed, recognised and parading themselves or their agents, privies or any person whatsoever as Baale of Baiyeku in accordance with the registered chieftaincy declaration of February 25, 1986.
Joined as defendants by the claimants are: Dr Tajudeen Aleje, Hakeem Sanni, Rahman Ajibode and Muraina Ona-Sule Ajibode, on behalf of the Ajibode family of Baiyeku.
Others are; the Governor of Lagos State, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lagos State and the Ikorodu Local Government Area.
Maja said the Oba of Igbogbo, the supervising authority over Baiyeku, had equally stayed away from the illegality though the Ajibode family had gone to his palace for the installation.
He said: “We are shocked and surprised at the level of impunity and unconcionable disregard of the laws perpetrated by the Ajibode family who went ahead to install one of their own as Baale despite the subsisting suit and without any legal backing whatsoever.
“This is a state that cherished the rule of law. That is why tendencies that tend to rubbish our gains as a state should be stamped out. That is why we are calling on the state government to look into this matter and mete appropriate punishment to whosoever is standing against the rule of law.
“The Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, the Oba supervising Baiyeku also did not give his “blessing to the illegal installation.
“As peace-loving members of the society,” he continued, “we are therefore calling on the state government to step into this matter and put an end to this charade before we all exhaust our temperance and patience over the actions of these impostors.
“As it is, Saheed is not known to law as the Baale of Baiyeku and he should be stopped on his tracks now and prosecuted before he begins to gain false confidence. People like him and his sponsors should earn prosecution as a reward of their futile actions.”
On his part, the regent of Baiyeku, Pa Solomon Oduala, said “what the people needed now is not Baale but a genuine resolution of all grouses that led to the violence that erupted between the community and their neighbour, Ayetoro, two years ago.
“Immediately after these people (the Ajibode family who all fled the community on the heels of the violence), returned, consequent on the death of the then Baale, they started the agitation for the selection, appointment and installation of a new Baale and would not listen to any contrary counsel.
“They went ahead and installed someone from their family despite the pending suit and the agitation by the other two royal families to present candidate for the stool.”
He said what the people want now is peace and urged government to do all in its powers to put a stop to all attempts to plunge the community into another orgy of violence.
The 90-year-old regent said since the return of the Ajibode family, Baiyeku has been living in fear as residents do not know what next to expect, adding that everything he and his committee has done in the past to engender peace in the community have been upturned.
He said the two persons who were declared wanted and had gone underground following their alleged involvement in the death of two people two years ago, have since returned home in Baiyeku and going about as free men.
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Kwara group alleges imposition of delegates
•Another threatens mass defection
Discordant tunes have trailed the last Saturday ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state.
Dissatisfied with the result two groups named Kwara Democratic Assembly and Kwara Think Thank have alleged impunity and imposition of delegates.
Leader of Kwara Think Thank, Adams Aliyu warned leadership of the PDP in the state against tampering with the results of congress or risks mass defection.
The group said there were alleged “desperate nocturnal bid to tamper with the official results of the PDP ward congress across the state, particularly in Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Asa, Oke-ero and some other areas in the state.”
He warned that any attempt to subvert the will of the electorates in the party will be sternly resisted.
“Some leaders of the party in the state, apparently acting on the instructions of some Abuja-based politicians have been trying unsuccessfully to substitute the results of the congress from across the sixteen local government Areas of the state, particularly in Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Asa, Oke-ero and other parts of the state for obvious narrow interest.”
“We urge the national leadership of our great party, the PDP, to immediately call these people to order before they all plunge the party into monumental crisis that may affect the fortunes of the party in the state.
“The reason for our membership of the PDP is hinged on the promise of equity and fairness. There has been nothing, until now, that threatens our resolve on the PDP.”
“If our concerns are not addressed as quickly as possibly by all concerned, we shall be left with no other option than to seek refuse in other places where our struggle for freedom from imposition and undemocratic tendencies will be protected an guaranteed.”
Also in statement, President of Kwara Democratic Assembly, Comrade Kazeem Abiola “developments and reports across the state indicate a grand conspiracy to doctor the results of the ward congress held last Saturday in the state.
“This impunity is in furtherance of widespread flagrant denial of due process and imposition of delegates under some dubious consensus arrangement. We owe it a duty to warn of an emerging grave danger with the fraudulent distortion and elimination by substitution of elected delegates from the 193 wards in Kwara state.
This manipulation is being perpetrated under the watchful eyes of the executive members of the party at the PDP state secretariat from Saturday night when results were turned in.
“This fraud, we are afraid, is capable of precipitating a crisis that may kill the chances of PDP in this state unless we resist it.
“It is pertinent to warn that if we allow any alteration in the list of duly elected delegates, the PDP would be laying a strong foundation for crisis and a destructive implosion in Kwara state. This will be a bad omen for PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the coming general elections.
“Ward chairmen are advised to prevail on the PDP local government chairmen to defend the peoples’ verdict and insist on the genuine list of elected delegates from the various wards.
“We also call on all lovers of PDP at the state and national level, the PDP National Working Committee and President Jonathan to intervene quickly and save Kwara PDP from the hands of those bent on pursuing mere self interest and pecuniary gains.”
Belgore hails congress
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Kwara State, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), has hailed the “peaceful and democratic” conduct of the Saturday ward congress in the state.
Belgore also praised the Senator Iyiola Omisore committee, which supervised the election, for its maturity and transparency.
The lawyer was the 2011 governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
He said: “This is to commend the peaceful and democratic conduct of the ward delegates election in Kwara State on Saturday.”
In a statement by the governorship aspirant media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye said: “As could be seen by unbiased observers of the process, the conduct of the delegate elections satisfied the test of electoral integrity as every party member with requisite accreditation fully participated in the exercise without let or hindrance. I congratulate all members of our great party for this feat!
“We commend the quality leadership of Senator Iyiola Omisore who led the committee of great party officials who conducted the exercise. The committee’s non-partisanship and maturity served to ensure a generally orderly and representative exercise.
“Stakeholders and members of Kwara PDP family deserve a pat on the back for their patience and commitment which ensured that the delegates’ election was a huge success. This demonstrates our people’s thirst for positive change and people-driven governance in our state.”