2023: Abaribe, others threaten to abandon PDP, over ward congresses

Abia political elders led by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, on Wednesday threatened to abandon the party over alleged poor handling of ward congresses in the state.

Abaribe and six other gubernatorial aspirants, while addressing journalists at the (PDP) secretariat on Wednesday, kicked against the “ward congresses purportedly conducted by the State Chairman of the party, Allwell Okere, on May 6, 2022”, urging the party to use only the existing statutory delegates’ list for the forthcoming primaries.

“We therefore, urge the NWC of our great party to use only statutory (automatic) delegates for the forthcoming primaries to avoid a looming disaster for all our aspirants at all levels in Abia State.

“While doing this we also wish to let the NWC know that we have also heard of plans to doctor the authentic Statutory Delegates’ list.

“We know who the statutory delegates are and have therefore, as a matter of urgency, applied for the Certified True Copy of the list from the National Organising Secretary of the party and from INEC,” they said.

Abaribe had, at the briefing attended by six governorship aspirants, warned that the party “risks self-inflicted problems that could lead to a major destructive implosion,” if it disregards their warnings.

According to him, “At the centre of the vexed issues is the obvious manipulation by a tiny segment of the State Executive Committee of the party to yield to plots at subverting the democratic process, which is geared towards achieving a predetermined goal of imposition at all levels.

“We are therefore, here in our party’s Abuja National headquarters to alert the party and the Nigerian public of this ugly development, which if not stopped could spell doom for the party ahead of the 2023 general election not only in Abia State but in the South East as a whole.

“Taking our people for granted by subverting their wish and aspirations with all blatant concoctment of what never happened is the height of impunity that we all must resist, particularly the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party.”

Abaribe alleged that there “was not and has never been any Ward Congress to elect the 3-man Ad-hoc delegates in Abia State.”

He disclosed that the congress earlier scheduled to hold on 30th April, 2022 was cancelled due to a court order and therefore, could not hold. It was re-scheduled to hold on May 4, 2022, adding that “It also failed to hold on that date because of a public holiday declared in Abia State and since then none has been held, neither has there been any communication for another congress by PDP National Headquarters.”

He urged the party to verify their claims by referring to an official letter from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that confirmed the last official communication between it and PDP to the effect that no congresses to elect the 3-man Ad-hoc delegates for the party primary elections has held up till today.

“We heard via rumours that there is a list of ad-hoc delegates flying around and in the custody of the NWC, purporting it to have been a product of a congress held on 6th May 2022,” he said.

He further said that what was being bandied as a list emanated from an imaginary congress conducted vide a letter of notice to the Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner signed by the Abia State Chairman of the PDP, Allwell Okere.

“The implication being that the functions of NEC and NWC was performed by a State Chairman of the party and NOT the National Chairman and Secretary of PDP.

“Our great party, should therefore disregard any of such list especially now that INEC has come forward to clarify that it neither received any communication from the POP National Chairman and the National Secretary to participate nor did it monitor any such exercise as required by both the INEC Guidelines for Political Parties Section 1.2 which stipulates a mandatory 7-day notice to INEC and Section 82(5) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“The National Legal adviser, we believe, knows the implications of going ahead to use such legally unknown delegates in the primary elections and should advise the NWC accordingly, unless the party wants to enjoy the unenviable luxury of walking towards self-destruction.

“The Abia Sate Chairman of PDP, Asiforo Okere in writing and sending such notice, clearly overreached himself and by so doing flagrantly ran afoul of the extant laws both that of the PDP and the Electoral Act. The Act provides for the channels of communication between the political parties and the INEC,” he said.

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Abaribe and his group noted that the commission as the Electoral Act provides, relates only with the National Executives of political parties.

“Therefore, communications for the purposes of congresses and convention must be through the National Chairman and the National Secretary. Assuming without conceding that a congress held on the 6th of May, 2022, where did the Abia State Chairman of PDP derive his powers to solely conduct a party congress and even write to invite the State Resident electoral commissioner for the same purpose.

“It will be imprudent for the NWC to be seen to have allowed its powers to be so usurped knowing the dire consequences of such action on the electoral process and the quest to enhance the fortunes of the party in the 2023 General elections,” he said.

According to him, “The NWC should as a matter of fact know that the State Chairman’s actions with that letter failed to satisfy the requirements of the law as it is the NWC and or the NEC of the party that has the exclusive prerogative to give notice to INEC and to conduct party congresses and primaries. Any such notice given and congresses conducted by any State Executive as purportedly done in this case is null and void.

“As party members who love and cherish our great party, it is also our duty to lend our voice and contribute towards steering it out of a potentially calamitous journey which will likely to lead Abia PDP to have no candidates in the 2023 election.”