Tension as PDP Holds Primaries

Posted by admin Headlines Monday, January 10th, 2011

There was tension yesterday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, as information filtered in that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has postponed the primary election to pick the governorship candidate of the party in the April poll.

But across the country, there was no upset as PDP governors won their tickets amidst protests from other aspirants contesting against them.

The governors that have picked the party’s tickets to contest re-election are Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Patrick Yakowa (Kaduna), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom).

Other governors that have picked their PDP tickets for re-election are Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Ikedi Ohakim (Imo), Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi) and Aliyu Shinkafi (Zamfara).

In the meantime, there were parallel congresses in Ogun State while in Lagos, owing to some problems, the PDP governorship primary will now hold today.

The party’s primary election will also hold today in Abia State following the directive from the national headquarters of the party while in Kano, the PDPâ€ˆprimary was still ongoing by late last night.
But the lingering crisis rocking the Enugu State PDP deepened further as the faction loyal to the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, conducted a mock primary election for the state House of Assembly aspirants despite the suspension of all primaries in the state by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

Chairman of the faction, Chief Okey Ogbonna, confirmed that the House of Assembly primaries were going on smoothly yesterday as materials for the exercise received from the PDP headquarters in Abuja were distributed to the 17 local government areas.

The Governor Sullivan Chime faction is not participating in the primaries as the members were still waiting for the outcome of the harmonization of the two groups. President Goodluck Jonathan had recently waded into the crisis leading to an understanding that the two groups should harmonise on a 50-50 ratio.
PDP’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Morohunkola Thomas, said the primary in Oyo State was postponed because of the inability of the team from the party’s headquarters, billed to conduct the poll, to get enough materials for the exercise.

But sources, however, told THISDAY that the primary was postponed as a result of the pressure mounted on the PDP national secretariat by the forces opposed to the second term bid of the state Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to halt the primary owing to the unfolding development in the state.

There was fracas in the state during the ward congress and delegates elections last week during which the factional Chairman of the defunct National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr. Lateef Salako alias Eleweomo, was killed.

Senate Leader Teslim Folarin was interrogated over the assassination last Monday but whisked to a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Iyaganku, Ibadan the next day, which remanded him in detention till January 14.

But his detention ground is being besieged daily by influential politicians within and outside the state.

The postponement of the governorship primary followed a similar pattern with that of the House of Assembly and National Assembly primaries which were also earlier postponed.

Thomas said the House of Assembly primary had now been re-scheduled for today, National Assembly primary for tomorrow and the governorship primary for Wednesday.

Alao-Akala who has already obtained and submitted the nomination form in his bid to return to power for the second term would slug it out with three other aspirants.

They are former PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Alhaji Yekini Adeojo, former Minister of Special Duties in the Sani Abacha military regime, Elder Wole Oyelese, and Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarunmi who was deputy governor to Alao-Akala during his 11-month administration following the illegal impeachment of former Governor Rasidi Ladoja of the state.

Oyelese and Adeojo belong to a faction of PDP led by Senator Lekan Balogun and opposed to Alao-Akala.
Gbolarunmi on the other hand, fell out with Alao-Akala over the former’s support for the presidential aspiration of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida. He is suspected to enjoy the support of leading Islamic leader, Azeez Arisekola- Alao.

Amid protests by other aspirants, Governor Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State was announced as the sole aspirant for the PDP gubernatorial primary held at the Uyo Township Stadium.
Former Special Adviser, Political, Hon. Imo Udo, during the immediate past administration of Obong Victor Attah was barred from participating in the primary by the PDP officials that conducted the election.

“From the National Secretariat of the party, there is only one person cleared for the primary. He is Chief Godswill Akpabio,”the Returning Officer, Femi Ibitoye, announced before the commencement of the primary.

Despite Akpabio emerging as the only aspirant, the delegates were still subjected to voting which the panel said was in line with the party’s constitution.
Sylva won a landslide victory in the Bayelsa State PDP governorship congress to contest for re-election.
He was congratulated by President Goodluck Jonathan who was physically present during the primary to cast his vote. Jonathan admitted that the process was free and fair.

However, before the commencement of voting, former Deputy Governor Peremobowei Ebebi whose name was conspicuously missing on the gubernatorial aspirants” list stormed out of the arena promising to fight his humiliation with “the last blood.”

After the election, President Jonathan said: “I came to the state to defend my one man, one vote. All Nigerians must accept that the era of snatching of ballot boxes away is over. I congratulate the governor for his victory. PDP is one family and I want everybody to come together at the end of the primaries.”

And despite the issue raised by the Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Mike Igini, that the party’s ward congresses did not follow the guidelines stipulated by the party and as such other primaries could not be predicated on it, the party in the state said it had confirmed Imoke as its sole governorship candidate for the April poll.

The Jigawa State governor (Lamido) and his counterpart in Katsina State, Shema, also emerged winners of the PDP governorship primary elections in their states unopposed.
Governor Shema secured 1,374 votes even though he was the only aspirant in the race.
However, Lamido decried the indiscriminate change of platforms by politicians.

Lamido also condemned the former vice-president and PDP presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, as well as the former Jigawa State Governor Ibrahim Turaki, for moving from one party to another, saying they lacked political maturity, respect and honour.

Kaduna State Governor Yakowa polled 904 votes to defeat his main opponent, Alhaji Suleiman Hunkuyi and Hajiya Mairo Habib, who got 48 and three votes respectively.
But Hunkuyi who alleged that the election was characterised by irregularities rejected the results saying he would challenge it.

Hunkuyi was initially disqualified by the PDP screening committee but he challenged his disqualification at the Kaduna High Court, which decided the case in his favour last Friday.

Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Senators Ahmed Makarfi and Isaiah Balat among several other prominent politicians in the state voted during the primary election.

In Ogun, the Senator Jubril Martins Kuye’s camp held a separate governorship primary as opposed to the one conducted by the panel sent from the Abuja headquarters of the party where the state Governor Gbenga Daniel’s candidate, Gboyega Isiaka, was picked as the party’s candidate.

Chairman of the panel, Col. Abdul-Mumuni Aminu (rtd), while announcing the results of the primary, described the election as “very orderly and a show of the spirit of our party.”
The election was held at the Gateway International Stadium Centre, Abeokuta in the presence of bomb detectives, riot policemen and the convention officers.

Eleven aspirants took part in the factional one held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, a short distance from the Gateway International Stadium centre under the auspices of the “Majiyagbe” group.
It produced former Administrator of Ekiti State, Chief Adetunji Idowu Olurin, as the PDP governorship candidate.

The crisis of succession in Kwara State deepened at the weekend as two factions of PDP held separate congresses to pick its gubernatorial candidate.

The development, according to THISDAY checks, might not be unconnected with the recent defection of former Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, from the party to the unknown Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).

It was gathered that a faction of the party which claimed to be PDP founding fathers led by Chief Samuel Adebayo held their state congress at Offa-Garage area of Ilorin where they affirmed the candidature of one of the governroship aspirants of the party in the state, Hon. Bashr Bolarinwa, as the sole governorship candidate of the party for the elections.

But the congress of the main PDP in the state led by Alhaji Yusuf Aiyedun, was still in progress as the officials of the INEC from Abuja that will conduct the primary were still being expected late last night.wp_posts

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Posted by admin on Jan 10 2011. Filed under Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry