2015: Governorship primary tears PDP apart in states

There are strong indications that the governorship primary
held on Monday is tearing state chapters of the Peoples
Democratic Party apart.
Saturday PUNCH reliably learnt on Thursday that many of
the aggrieved aspirants were planning to leave the party.
States where the PDP is currently battling intractable
crises include Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Yobe, Akwa
Ibom, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Imo and Abia.
It was gathered that the PDP leadership was disturbed
by crises arising from the primary.
It was learnt that as a first step, aggrieved aspirants were
being encouraged to go to the party’s appeal panels.
But as part of moves to pacify them, it was gathered that
they were being wooed with promises of appointments in
2015.
A member of the PDP National Working Committee,
who confided in Saturday PUNCH, said, “The PDP
is the ruling party and we are sure of winning the 2015
presidential election.
“We have told them (aggrieved aspirants) that it is better
for them to remain in the party. When there is time to
make appointments, they will be given top consideration.”
It was, however, gathered that the peace move had not
yielded positive results among the aggrieved aspirants.
Rivers: PDP will lose Rivers if,…—Aggrieved aspirants
In Rivers State, the 16 governorship aspirants have
continued to reject the outcome of the governorship
primary of the PDP.
A former Minister of State for Education, Chief
Nyesom Wike, got the party’s governorship ticket.
The grouse of the 16 aspirants is that Wike comes from
Ikwerre, an area where the incumbent governor, Mr.
Rotimi Amaechi, hails from.
They argued that the position of the governor must be
zoned in the interest of justice and fairness.
One of the aspirants, Tonye Princewill, in an interview
in Port Harcourt, expressed the fear that the party might
lose the state to the APC if the zoning formula for the
governorship position was finally jettisoned.
Princewill stated, “The Rivers State Wike led PDP
executive does not realise we are several steps ahead of
them; none of the key aspirants were involved in the
congresses. That should be a signal for the party.
“Our silence will speak louder than our words. In the
end, the PDP should sit up and address this sham or they
will lose us and lose Rivers state. Nothing is impossible.”
But the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Felix Obuah,
in a statement faulted the stand of the aggrieved aspirants.
He stated, “This is about the first time in the political
history of the state, a party decided to do away with
outdated primordial sentiments in choosing its
representatives based on quality and personal charisma
which is PDP’s edge over others.”
Akwa Ibom: 22 aspirants kick against Akpabio-backed
candidate
The twenty-two aspirants who boycotted the PDP
primary on Monday are pressuring the national
headquarters of the party to cancel what they described as
the skewed primary in favour of Governor Godswill
Akpabio’s friend, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
One of the aspirants, Dr. Peter Esu, in an interview,
said they had not taken the decision to defect to any
political party. He said they have appealed the outcome of
Monday’s PDP primary.
Esu said, “We have confidence in our party. They will
listen to us. And if at all we are to defect to a “We are
under intense pressures from other political parties for us to
move enmasse with our supporters.
Oro ethnic group threatens to leave PDP
But the people of Oro ethnic nationality, the third largest
group in the state, have threatened to defect to a party
that would accommodate their interests.
According to them, what will only stop them from
defecting to another political party is the cancelation of the
governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State.
The position of Oro people, who occupy five o ut of the
12 local government areas in the oil-rich belt of Akwa
Ibom South Senatorial District, was made known
through Oron Union.
One of the leaders of the group and former Nigerian
Ambassador to Greece, Dr. Etim Uye, in a statement,
said their intention to defect was part of the move to
express their anger against the Akpabio administration.
Their demands include total cancellation of the PDP
governorship primary.
They said that in the alternative, considering the limitation
in time imposed by the Independent National Electoral
Commission election timetable, a consensus candidate should
be sourced from aspirants, who are of Oro extraction.
“In the event of the neglect of our position by the national
leadership of PDP to correct the obvious anomaly
perpetuated against Oro, the people of Oro will be left
with no alternative, but to join a political party and
platform they believe will accommodate their interest and
aspirations,‘‘ Oro people declared.
Ogun: Nine aspirants reject result
In Ogun State, nine governorship aspirants have moved
against Adegboyega Isiaka, who emerged as the PDP
candidate in a controversial circumstance.
The nine aspirants had boycotted the primary, where
Isiaka got the governorship primary.
They include Tony Ojesina (Ewekoro), Prince Yanju
Lipede (Abeokuta South), Remilekun Bakare (Abeokuta
South), Sarafa Ishola (Abeokuta North), Yomi
Majekodunmi (Abeokuta North) and a former Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole (Abeokuta
South). Others are David Bamgbose (Abeokuta North),
Isiaq Akinlade (Yewa South), and Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye
(Ijebu East).
The party’s National Working Committee had on Monday
issued a statement ordering the stoppage of the
governorship primary in the state. But the state chapter of
the party went ahead to conduct the primary.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that many of the aspirants
were still looking up to the national leadership of the party
to ensure justice.
One of chieftains of the party in the state, who confided in
Saturday PUNCH , said, “The only thing that can ensure
victory of the party in the state is justice. If there is no
justice, the PDP can as well forget winning the state.”
But the state chairman of the party, Mr. Adebayo
Dayo, said he never got any directive from either the
National Executive Council and the NWC on the conduct
of the governorship primary.
He said, “I am not in a position to confirm or deny what
the national secretariat in Abuja has said. At the National
Executive Council meeting we held last month or
thereabout, we were given the guidelines and the timetable
for the primaries.”
When contacted, one of the aggrieved governorship
contestants, Remilekun Bakare, told one of our
correspondents on the telephone on Thursday that many of
them were waiting for the decision of the NWC and the
NEC on the primary.
He said, “We are not defecting yet. We are waiting for
the decision of the National Executive Council and
National Working Committee on the primary.”
Imo: PDP must resolve grumblings—Ararume
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, won the Imo State Governorship
primary of the PDP.
But the runner-up in the primary, Senator Ifeanyi
Ararume, had rejected the result, insisting that he is the
winner of the race.
Ararume told one of our correspondents in Umuahia that
he won the context but his mandate was given to Ihedioha
in error.
He expressed confidence that his stolen mandate would be
restored to him by the party.
He stated, “I won the primaries but I want to believe the
ticket was given to Ihedioha by mistake. It was a
miscalculation because the total number of accredited votes
was 1,017 and valid votes were 1,006. So, if you deduct
the excess of 21 votes mistakenly added to Ihedioha you
will arrive at the truth that I am the winner of the
primaries with 336.”
Yobe: Primary not fair—Ex-minister
There is also crisis in the Yobe State chapter of the party,
where a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama
and three other aspirants have rejected the victory of
another ex-minister, Alhaji Adamu Waziri.
Yerima, Ibrahim Talba, and Hassan Kafayos Hussein, in
a collective statement, faulted the result.
The aspirants said that the list of the delegates that should
have voted at the primaries was not shown to them.
Ebonyi: Elechi set to join LP
Our correspondents gathered that the Ebonyi State
Governor, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, had been
staying away from the PDP’s activities since he lost his
bid to install his preferred aspirant as the party’s
candidate.
The PDP chieftains in the state including the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius
Anyim, ensured that Elechi’s deputy, Dave Umahi,
picked the governorship ticket.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that Elechi was set to dump
the PDP for Labour Party.
Already, his first son, Elechi Elechi and other loyalists,
including the senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial
District, Chris Nwankwo, have joined the LP.
Kebbi: Eight aspirants rise against winner
In Kebbi State, eight aspirants have rejected the primary,
which produced General Sarkin Yaki Bello (retd.) as
governorship candidate.
The aggrieved aspirants, including the state deputy
governor, Ibrahim Aliyu, and Senator Muhammadu
Magoro, held a meeting after which they issued a
communiqué rejecting the exercise.
They urged the NWC of the party to investigate and
punish all those behind the conduct of the primaries.
Abia: It was a marred process–Ogah
In Abia State, the runner up, Dr. Uche Ogah, who
expressed reservations over the primaries, said he would
make his official position known in a week’s time.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, he alleged
that proper accreditation was not done, adding that “ a
process marred can never produce the mandate of the
people.”
Ogah, who polled 103 votes at the exercise, therefore,
appealed to his teeming supporters to remain calm and law
abiding, promising to make public his next line of action
after due consultations. But in a swift reaction, the
winner of the Abia context, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, said
the exercise was very transparent and commendable
contrary to allegations by the losers that the process was
fraudulent.
He roundly denied that he “quarantined the delegates and
denied his opponents access to them,” insisting that all
aspirants had unfettered access to the delegates.
Ikpeazu said “ I lack the capacity to quarantine 700
delegates,” adding that no aspirant would claim he was
denied access to the delegates because their list was made
public and they were the same delegates who participated
in state and national assemblies’ primaries.”
Bayelsa: Ex-Commissioner, others dump PDP
Some prominent members of the party in Bayelsa State
chapter, including a former commissioner, Mr. Zuwa
Kodugah, have defected to the All Progressives Grand
Alliance.
Konugah and a former President of the Ijaw Youth
Congress Wordwide, Jonjon Oyeinfa, had shifted their
loyalty to APGA where they had picked their tickets to
run for the state House of Assembly elections in 2015.
We will accommodate all aspirants—PDP
When contacted, the PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in an interview with one
of our correspondents, dismissed the fear of the impending
explosion of the party.
Metuh assured that the PDP would resolve the crises
arising from primaries and pacify aggrieved aspirants
He said, “What we are doing now is that the party is
working with the people directly in those states, to make
sure that once the guideline is upheld and the election was
conducted according to the guidelines, the outcome would
be upheld.
“The other one is to ensure that we accommodate our
members. We are working on it, I can assure you.”