April poll: PDP dumps Iyabo-Obasanjo, Olurin

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party may have finally spurned former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s efforts to influence his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello’s return to the Senate.

On Thursday, the PDP gave out the Independent National Electoral Commission’s forms to some winners of the primaries conducted by the Governor Gbenga Daniel-led faction of the party in Ogun State.

Two of the prominent candidates — Alhaji Gboyega Isiaka (governoship candidate) and Mrs. Lola Edewor-Abiola, daughter of the winner of the June12, 1993, late Chief MKO Abiola—were at the Wadata Plaza national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja to collect their forms.

By the PDP decision, Abiola-Edewor will contest the election for Ogun Central Senatorial District in April.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had on Wednesday given an interim order barring INEC from accepting the list of candidates submitted to it by the governor’s faction.

The Ogun State PDP is divided into two factions, one of which is led by the governor and the other by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Jubril Martins-Kuye and other senior party officials opposed to the governor.

The factions’ battle for supremacy made the two factions to hold different primaries, but while INEC officials monitored the governor’s primaries, none was seen at the other conducted by the anti-OGD faction.

The faction supported by Obasanjo, during its primaries produced a former administrator of Ekiti State, Maj.-Gen. Adetunji Olurin (retd.) as its governorship candidate and Obasanjo-Bello as the candidate for Ogun Central Senatorial District.

Isiaka, who arrived at the PDP national secretariat at about 12.35pm in an ash Mercedes Benz Jeep, wore a white traditional dress and a black cap known in Daniel’s political camp as OGD.

He left some minutes after picking the form from the office of the National Organising Secretary, Chief Uche Secondus, in company with some of his aides.

Our correspondent learnt that Isiaka also collected the nomination form for the Ogun State Commissioner for Works, Prince Adesegun Adekoya, who was declared the winner of the primaries for Ijebu North/Ijebu South/Ogun Waterside federal constituency.

The governorship candidate, who confirmed picking the forms in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said he was rushing to Abeokuta to fill his and then return it on Friday (today).

He said, “I have just picked the form and I am rushing to Abeokuta to enable me fill it. We (candidates) have been asked to return the forms on Friday to enable the party send them to INEC on Monday.”

Abiola-Edewor, who had earlier arrived at the PDP secretariat, said, “I have collected the form this (Thursday)morning. There is no doubt about it. I came to pick it myself. I will return it soon.”

INEC had said on Thursday that it would deal with the names submitted to it by political parties rather than individuals.

It added that any group recognised by the national body of the party, which he said had the power to submit names to it, would also be accorded recognition.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja, also said that it was mandatory for political parties to invite the commission to their primaries.

“Any primary not monitored by INEC is a violation of the electoral act. The law requires INEC to monitor primaries of political parties,” Idowu said.

Obasanjo had on January 5 visited the headquarters of the PDP in Abuja to complain about the party’s state of affairs in his state.

When contacted Obasanjo-Bello’s media aide, Mr. Bidemi Osunbiyi told our correspondent that “we will know the authentic PDP in our state very soon.”

Also, Salako said, something is wrong with our system.

“If the order of a state high court could stop our former National Chairman, Dr. Okwelieze Nwodo from functioning, why would the order of a Federal High Court not stop the PDP from handing over the forms to the Daniel faction,” he asked.

Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court had on Wednesday restrained INEC and the PDP from validating the results of the governorship primaries conducted by the Daniel camp.

Kafarati gave the order following an ex-parte application by Olurin, Chief Babatunde Fadun, Mr. Dave Salako, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye, Mr. Wale Solaja and Seun Adesanya.

He further restrained INEC and the PDP from making any pronouncement validating the results of the primaries conducted by the Joju Fadairo-led executive, pending the determination of the originating summons.

But the judge directed the electoral commission and the party to accept the results of the governorship primaries won by the plaintiffs — Olurin, Fadun, Salako, Oladunjoye, Solaja and Adesanya.

Lawyer to the plaintiffs, Mr. O.O. Fakunle (SAN), had argued the application which was backed by a 53-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Solaja.

The judge adjourned the case till February 8 for further hearing.

Meanwhile, winners of the party primaries have been trooping to its Wadata Plaza headquarters to collect their nomination forms.

Among them were Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa).

-Punch

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Posted by admin on Jan 27 2011. Filed under Party Politics, Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), Raw Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry