Tag: Governorship primaries in Nigeria

Court Rules Ugwuanyi Is PDP Governorship Candidate

Ifeanyi UgwanyiA Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Senator Anyogu Eze, challenging the nomination of Honourable Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as the  governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State.

Senator Eze had asked the court to hold that a sister court presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, endorsed the list used for a parallel governorship primaries of the party, which produced him as the authentic candidate of the party.

However, Justice Evoh Chukwu, in his judgement disagreed with the lawmaker, saying the primaries conducted with the harmonised list of the party in the state, which produced Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the party’s candidate subsists.

He ruled that the order of the sister court was merely declarative and not mandatory.

Justice Chukwu also stated that only one primary was held by the PDP national working committee in line with section 89[4] of the Electoral Act.

The Judge held that Ugwuanyi was declared the candidate of the party after voting by delegates in the party’s primaries held on April 11 last year.

Supporters of the Enugu State governorship candidate, Honourable Ugwuanyi, received the news that the court had struck out the suit challenging his candidacy in cheers, celebrating the end of a case that had been postponed on four different occasions.

Addressing reporters at the end of the ruling, Alex Akoja, the lawyer to Senator Eze, said he would consult with his client to decide on whether to appeal the judgement.

 

PDP Denies Exodus Of Members Over Controversial Primaries

PDPThe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed claims that the party’s members are leaving the party following contentious primaries in their states.

The National Secretary of the party, Professor Wale Oladipo, told reporters at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Monday that contrary to the claims, the party was actually gaining new members.

“Take it from Sokoto to Kano, from Rivers to Niger, we are gaining members. If you go to Oyo State, we know that in politics, if you win some, you lose some,” he said

He also explained that the party’s campaign plans for the presidential, legislative and state elections, insisting that the party was prepared for the elections.

“A National Campaign Council will sit and constitute committees for the presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives and governorship campaigns. We have a system in place in PDP that will ensure that everyone gets equal chance,” Professor Oladipo said.

After the governorship primaries of the party in some states, some members of the party that the results did not favour have opposed the result, calling for new primary elections to be conducted.

 

Aspirants Seek Rerun After Crisis Mars Kwara PDP Governorship Primary

PDP22Aspirants in the Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship primary election are demanding for a rerun after crisis erupted, disrupting the process and bringing it to an abrupt end.

The aspirants had heated arguments over the genuineness of delegates to the primary.

Eleven out of the 12 aspirants had accused one of them of trying to impose himself through illegal means which the man denied.

The aspirants in a joint press conference called on the leadership of the party to order a rerun of the election before Thursday to ensure a free and fair governorship primary in the state.

‘Fake Delegates’

The situation at the Stella Obasanjo Hall in Ilorin, venue of the accreditation exercise, could not be described as palatable because despite waiting several hours, they could not be accredited until late afternoon.

At another venue, where the election was to be held, the atmosphere was charged and the delegates threw punches and chairs at one another, as they alleged infiltration by what they called ‘fake delegates’ imported by one of the aspirants.

The ugly incident led to the cancellation of the primary election by the state chairman of the party, Iyiola Oyedepo, a situation which 11 out of the 12 aspirants in a press conference described as unacceptable, blaming the party leadership and others of conniving to install Dele Belgore by all means.

However, the 12th aspirant, Mr Belgore, who was not at the briefing and accused of importing fake delegates and fake accreditation, described the allegation as false, saying he is “sure of winning the primary anytime it is schedule again”.

He said that the people of the state were in support of him and alleged that most of the aspirants accusing him were moles implanted by opposition to disrupt the primary.

On his part, the state chairman of the party, Iyiola Oyedepo, denied tampering with accreditation tags or supporting any aspirant.

Mr Oyedepo said that if they had allow him to use multiple venues, the crisis that erupted would not have occurred.

He promised to liaise with the national leadership of the party on when the governorship primary election rerun would be held in the state.