By Deborah Coker
Abuja
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo has called for the cancellation of the outcome of wards delegates election held last Saturday in the state.
This is contained in a statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Ogie Vasco, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Vasco, the call for the cancellation became imperative in view of what transpired on that day, insisting that the outcome of the process was not a true reflection of the PDP Congress in the state.
This is as Chief Anselm Ojezua, one of the aggrieved PDP Edo governorship aspirants confirmed that the ward congress in the state was not free and fair.
Ojezua said during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday that only two officials conducted the election in 192 wards in the state.
He described the exercise as a mockery of the party’s regulations and processes, adding that the result sheets in all 102 wards were signed by only two officers.
Ojezua said that nine out of the 10 aspirants were excluded from the exercise and only saw the result sheets when they arrived in Abuja to lodge an appeal against the process.
According to him, it was only when they got to Abuja that they saw that the result sheets for the exercise that was supposedly conducted simultaneously in 192 wards were signed by only two officials.
He said the sheets were signed by the chairman of the ward congress committee, Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State and the secretary of the committee.
“What I find more disturbing is that the chairman came in, midway into the exercise and he went to two locations.
“It was when he came he made a call to the deputy governor who is one of the aspirants, informing him that he has just arrived and would love to meet with the aspirants.
He said that he was waiting for his counterpart, and that as soon as he arrives he would inform us.
“We waited and the next day at about 4.00 pm or thereabout we saw him on television saying that he has been to two locations, that the process is free and fair,” he said.
Ojezua, who moved from the APC to the PDP with Gov. Godwin Obaseki in 2020, alleged that the entire process of the ward congress was fraught with irregularities and even illegalities.
“It was also when we got to Abuja to lodge our joint appeal that for the first time we saw the result sheets and discovered that two persons conducted the election in 192 wards simultaneously.
“All the result sheets were not signed by the electoral officers. Not one of them. All of them were signed by Gov. Peter Mbah and the committee secretary,” he said.
The NAN recalls that at the end of the exercise, Mbah insisted that the exercise followed due process and was therefore free and fair.
He also told newsmen that he was satisfied with the conduct of the exercise and turnout of voters.
Mr. Ogie Vasco, in his statement, noted that “arising from the purported sham called congress, the leaders of the Edo State Chapter of the PDP reject in totality the results of the purported ward congresses.
“Also after a cursory overview of the whole exercise, the leaders in their wisdom have denounced the whole process as a sham marred by acute manipulation.
“The office of the National Organising Secretary published three conflicting letters on the composition of officers in charge of the congress both at the wards and local government areas.
“The last letter consisted of names of serving government officials in Edo and Delta States.
The state publicity secretary also said that the irregular act was communicated to the national leadership of the party by the nine aspirants so affected, yet nothing was done.
“Where then is the fairness the NWC (National Working Committee) preached in the various engagements with stakeholders leading to this Congress?
“These and other infractions observed need to be addressed properly.
“Consequently, the leadership of the party calls on all party faithful to join in the call to right the wrongs of the sham perpetrated this past weekend. And also call for a total cancellation of the exercise”, Vasco said.
