Chukwudike Ndubeze, Awka
The current crisis rocking Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may cost it the opportunity to field candidates for Senatorial, House of Representatives, and State House of Assembly seats in the forthcoming elections.
This came after Anambra Ward congress panel of the PDP, led by Jibrin Ahmed, was on Sunday, held hostage by the party’s aspirants and stakeholders over its inability to present the original result sheets.
The scenario almost resulted into a free-for-all fight at the party’s Secretariat at Udoka Estate, when the Panel members reportedly claimed they left the original result sheets in their hotel room.
The Panel members had directed the aspirants, who were contesting the national assembly elections, and others to converge on the party’s office for briefing before the ward congresses, but trouble started when they presented the photocopies of the results sheets.
The leadership of the party has suspended screening of aspirants.
In a swift reaction to this development, about 76 aspirants raised an alarm in a communique signed and made available to Journalists, by Honourable Onyebuchi Agustine Offor, a House of Representatives aspirant for Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency on behalf of others on Wednesday.
The aspirants for the primaries alleged mysterious disappearance of the three-member Panel for the scheduled State Congresses chaired by the said Jibrin Ahmed.
They called on the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Iyorchia Ayu, and the leadership of the PDP to expeditiously repeat the state congresses exercise on Thursday, 5th May 2022 so as not to jeopardize their chances in the 2023 elections.
While reading out the Communique, Hon. Offor said: “We note with pain and dismay the inability of Jibrin Ahmed-led committee to conduct the 3-man ad-hoc delegate election that was to hold on 30th April but was rescheduled to 1st May 2022 due to unavailability of original result sheets.
“We passionately call on the National leadership of our great party PDP to expeditiously repeat the botched exercise on Thursday, 5th May 2022 so as not to jeopardize our chances in the 2023 elections. Or in the event of the exigency of time, the already existing ward and LGA executives can go ahead to conduct the primaries. The same committee for the repeat 3 ad-hoc congress, could equally be mandated to conduct the National delegate elections the next day.
“We reaffirm our resolution in our meeting with the panel set up by the national leadership of our party headed by H.E. Arapaja in a stakeholders meeting held in the national office of our party on 26th April 2022 that the state Congress of our party should be concluded, which we were later informed that it has been scheduled for Wednesday 4th 2022 by the National Working Committee.
“We pray that it should be held as scheduled so that we have a state leadership of the party to lead our campaigns for the forthcoming general elections and for peace and stability of the party in Anambra State.
“And we reaffirm our confidence in the leadership of our great party and trust their ability to lead us to victory in the forthcoming general elections.”
Recall that since the conclusion of the 2021 gubernatorial election in the state, the PDP had been engulfed in a leadership tussle between Chief Chris Uba faction and the faction led by the immediate-past chairman of the party, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu.
