- Says APC Crisis May Be Child’s Play To PDP’s Own
- INEC Warns Over Spate Of Pre-election Litigations In Edo
By Kolawole Ojebisi
Ongoing efforts to reconcile all the governorship aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State and get them behind one man was dealt a big blow on Tuesday, as the South-South bulwark of the PDP and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike announced he is pulling out of the reconciliation talks.
The PDP had last week granted a waiver to Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, to contest the election on its platform. The decision has left crisis in its wake.
Also, to enable the party resolve the much contention among the aspirants, the PDP also postponed its governorship primaries earlier slated for June 23 to June 25. But so far, there has been little results to show for the reconciliation efforts.
Read also: Big Blow For Independent Candidacy In Nigeria As ECOWAS Court Dismisses Suit
Whereas, one of the aspirants, Gideon Ikhine, on Monday stepped down from the governorship race and backed Governor Obaseki, the duo of Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and Kenneth Imasuagbon are fighting on.
Ogbeide-Ihama, had instituted a suit against the Edo state governor seeking the Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt to bar him from participating in the Edo state governorship primaries among other requests.
However, The New Diplomat, reported that the suit had not been adjudicated upon, thereby debunking the reports by some publications that the court had granted the prayers of Ogbeide-Ihama and restrained Governor Obaseki from participating in the Edo PDP primaries.
Read also: APC Leadership Tussle: Acting Chairman, Ajimobi Sues For Peace
Wike, who wrote on his Twitter handle — @GovWike – couldn’t hide his displeasure over the development in Edo. He also cautioned the governorship aspirants and other stakeholders in the state, saying “if the PDP is not careful, the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) would be child’s play.”
He told the party leadership to handle the Edo State PDP governorship tussle carefully and carry the aspirants and every member of the party in the state along on the matter.
This lends credence to the report that some key Edo PDP leaders were against what they termed the imposition of Obaseki on the party by the national leadership of the party.
Read also: Ajayi’s Impeachment Debacle: Ondo Chief Judge, Assembly At Loggerheads
Governor Wike wrote: “Nobody can threaten me because I said things must be done constitutionally. I will always continue to satisfy my conscience.
“From now on, I want to concentrate on the development of Rivers State.
“If PDP is not careful, the crisis in the All Progressive Congress (APC) would be a child’s play.
“I am brought up not to accept injustice, and that is why I keep speaking out on national issues. Nobody in PDP can intimidate Rivers State.
“I told them that in Edo State, we must handle the issue carefully and carry everybody along. They must respect human beings and not behave like tax collectors.
“They said because an order was obtained from a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, then I am responsible.”
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the spate of pre-election litigations, as well as conflicting court orders can disrupt the smooth conduct of primaries and the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state.
In a statement on Tuesday, Festus Okoye, INEC’s national commissioner for information and voter education, said the commission deliberated on a range of issues concerning the governorship election which is slated for September 19.
Speaking about the resolutions of the meeting, Okoye said the conduct of party primaries, including resolution of disputes, will end on June 27, 2020.
He added that the submission of the list of candidates the parties propose to present at the election and affidavits of validly nominated candidates will close at 6pm on June 29, 2020.
On court orders, the commission said the spate of pre-election litigations and conflicting orders emanating from such can affect the smooth conduct of primaries and the upcoming election.
He added that the commission had put plans in place to ensure legal bottlenecks would not impact negatively on its preparedness.
“In view of this and as part of its commitment to deepen the use of technology in elections, the commission will conduct a training programme for Liaison Officers nominated by all the registered Political Parties on the use of the INEC Portal for uploading nomination forms of candidates,” Okoye said.
“The training will take place at the Conference Hall of the Commission on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th June 2020 in two batches, to allow for physical distancing in line with the COVID-19 protocols.
“Political Parties should note that the organisation and scheduling of various activities and processes leading to the conduct of elections are complex and involve extensive and careful planning and any disruption of these processes comes at a huge cost to the nation.
“The spate and tenor of pre-election litigations and the conflicting orders emanating therefrom can harm the smooth conduct of primaries and the upcoming elections.”
It added that the commission is closely monitoring cases arising from the administration of political parties, conduct of primaries, and nomination of candidates and restated INEC’s commitment to obey all orders and judgements in accordance with the rule of law.
INEC said it has also considered the report from the meeting of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security (ICCES), which recently approved a code of conduct and rules of engagement for security officials on electoral duty.
It said, the code, signed by the chairman of INEC, the national security adviser (NSA) as co-chairman of ICCES and the inspector-general of police (IGP), will be uploaded on the websites of INEC, the office of the NSA and the Nigeria police force on June 25, 2020.
The APC has been embroiled in a leadership crisis following the appeal court ruling that upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole as national chairman of the party.
While the party announced Abiola Ajimobi, former Oyo governor, as acting chairman, Giadom declared himself as national chairman and also reversed the disqualification of Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, from the gubernatorial primary election.
But the national working committee of the APC overruled him and appointed Hilliard Eta, vice chairman of the party (south-south), to stand in for Ajimobi who was “unavoidably absent”.
A high court of the federal capital territory (FCT) reaffirmed Giadom as the acting national chairman of the APC but another high court in Rivers state restrained him from parading himself as such.
As part of measures to resolve the crisis, President Muhammadu Buhari has held meetings with some governors and Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
