Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The lingering crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ebonyi State continued at the weekend as two of the governorship aspirants traded words over the governorship candidature of the party.
The duo, Senator Obinna Ọgba and Mr Ifeanyi Odii, had emerged during two different governorship primaries held by two factions in the State.
While Odii won the party’s primaries of 28 and 29 of May 2022, Ọgba, who represents Ebonyi Central senatorial zone won the 4th and 5th of June 2022, primaries.
Mr Ogba was given the party’s certificate of return last week same day a Federal High Court in Abakaliki declared Mr Odii the authentic candidate of the party.
Senator Obinna Ogba on his return to the state at the weekend with the certificate was received by a mammoth crowd at his campaign office.
He later told journalists that he remained the authentic governorship candidate of the Party.
He assured his rival, Odii, that he was going to defeat him in court against all odds.
But in a quick reaction, the Director of Media and Publicity of Odii’s AnyiChuks Campaign Organization, Abia Onyike, called on Senator Ogba to stop misleading the general public as to his current status after the party’s primary election.
He claimed that on the 10th of June 2022, the National Leadership of the Party obeyed the Court Order by forwarding the names of all the candidates elected during the legitimate Primaries of 28 and 29 June 2022, to INEC and the processing of their forms has commenced,” he said.
But Ọgba countered stating that certificate of return has been given to him and the results of 4th and 5th June primary election have been accepted by the party adding that he has appealed the court case and filed for stay of execution.
He also noted that submission of governorship candidates to INEC by political parties has not commenced.
“Nigeria is not a banana Republic. The court doesn’t belong to anyone but to everybody. They will look at it and know who is at fault. Nobody can take the mandate of our people from the backyard. I am happy with the PDP delegates who expressed their choice of my person.
“The way I defeated him in practical terms is the same way I will defeat him in court. I don’t belong to hearsay or gossip. Ebonyi people shouldn’t be fooled.
“I’m going to serve him. I am the candidate of PDP for Ebonyi State Governorship in the 2023 general election. The case in Court is a pre-election matter. It will get to the Supreme court.”, he said.
In a press release titled, “The time for Truth and Reconciliation has come,” Onyike further described “the parallel Primaries conducted on the 4th and 5th of June, as an anti-democratic intervention by some powerful forces who were hell-bent on reversing the popular will of the people.”
According to him, “the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abakaliki on 7th June 2022 restoring the authenticity of the first Primaries which elected Dr Odii was a historic confirmation of the democratic will of Ebonyi PDP cadres as against the dictatorship and imposition by a few godfathers.
“The PDP Governorship Candidate today is Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii. He won the Primary Election conducted by the PDP on the 28 and 29 of May 2022. The 3-man Delegates List used for the Primary Election was the outcome of the State PDP Congress on 7th May 2022 which was eventually recognised by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).
“That Primary Election was properly authorized by the PDP NWC and was peacefully conducted with the INEC monitoring the exercise in line with the Electoral Guidelines and the 2022 Electoral Act. An attempt by the opposition to cancel the successfully conducted Primary Election suffered a setback.
“The PDP Governorship Candidate in the person of Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii is willing and ready to provide leadership and to reconcile the members of the party after the divisions arising from the internal power struggle.”
“We appeal to the Leaders and members of our great Party in the state to embrace the path of maturity and reconciliation at this moment to enable us to focus on the common enemy as we gradually approach the 2023 general elections. We should quickly recover from the fallouts of the primary elections and close ranks in the interest of our people and the future of the state.,” he said.
