The demand by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to transfer a case filed against the candidature of Osagie Ize-Iyamu, its candidate in the forthcoming Edo State governorship election, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Benin judicial district to Abuja has met the stiff resistance of the PDP National Campaign Council.
The PDP also dismissed recent allegations that the Council collected N15bn from Edo Stare Governor Godwin Obaseki to hand him the party’s governorship ticket.
The council which addressed newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday said it was ready to march APC’s ‘federal might’ with what it called ‘people power’.
The case was filed by the PDP against the candidature of Ize-Iyamu earlier in July 2020 but the APC on July 15, 2020, demanded for the matter and some others to Abuja.
The APC said it did not feel confident with their matters being handled in Benin any more because of Gov Obaseki now in the PDP.
The party wrote to the Chief Judge of Edo State, M.C Umar, asking for the case and some other cases to be transferred to Abuja, wondering why the Chief Judge assigned the case to himself. The APC said the Chief Judge has a cozy relationship with Gov Godwin Obaseki and that most cases by the APC have been going bad.
Kicking against the request, however, while addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt on Thursday, July 16, 2020, the publicity sub committee chairman of the PDP National Campaign Council on Edo 2020, the high chief and AIT founder, Raymond Dokpesi, leading Dino Melaye, Kola Ologbondiyan and others, said the APC request was against the order by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in 2018 as reiterated in June 2020 that cases should no longer be moved outside their originating areas of jurisdiction.
The PDP however said they were certain to win the case no matter where it would be heard and also sure of winning in Edo. The media chief said it is wrong to breach the order by the chief judge of the federal high court.
On the elections proper, the PDP council vowed to administer the heaviest and bitterest defeat to the APC.
He said the council has been strategising in Port Harcourt for days under the guidance of Gov Neeson Wike, a man they referred to as a war commander who survived use of federal might and militarisation of election.
On allegations of N15Bn, Dokpesi said there was nothing of such, saying it was flown by Ize-Iyamu to create disaffection in the Edo PDP leadership against the national leaders.
He wondered how much the accuser gave the APC leaders to get their ticket.
