Indications emerged on Wednesday that the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) risks not fielding any candidate for three Senatorial seats, eleven House of Representatives for the federal constituencies and 30 seats in the State House of Assembly.
This is as an estimated 76 aspirants of the party jostling for the senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly seats for the 2023 elections, are currently at the crossroads.
The aspirants at a press conference at the end of their meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Awka the state capital on Wednesday raised the alarm over delay by the three man panel of State Congresses to screen them ahead of the Party’s primaries slated for Saturday 7th May.
Spokesperson for the concerned PDP National and State Houses of Assembly aspirants, Mr. Onyebuchi Offor read out the resolutions contained in a communiqué signed and sent to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party through the National Chairman, Professor Iyorchia Ayu.
He expressed disappointment over the failure of “the 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.”
Already, tension and anxiety have heightened among the concerned aspirants of the various elective positions into the National and State Houses of Assembly.
At the center of the confusion involving over 76 aspirants vying for the 44 seats (for the senate, House of Representatives and state house of assembly, respectively) is the three member Panel for the scheduled State Congress chaired by one Jubril Ahmed.
Members of the panel had allegedly bolted into the thin air with the original result sheets for the Congress after they were held hostage on Sunday May 1st, 2022 at the party’s secretariat by the aggrieved aspirants of the PDP.
The panel members claimed that they couldn’t conduct the exercise because they arrived the state late.
The embattled panel members had rescheduled the conduct of the state Congress for Wednesday this week to enable delegates elect candidates for the 44 seats – three senatorial districts, the eleven House of Representatives and 30 State House of Assembly seats, respectively.
The Network gathered that the Chairman of the panel Alhaji Jubrin Ahmed and Secretary Casmir Ajulu have since resigned their positions thereby leaving all the aspirants in frustration.
Also, the National Working Committee of the People’s Democratic Party, is said to be silent since the Congress Committee members returned back to the National Secretariat of the party, a development that suggests a sinister move by some hidden elements of the PDP in the state to arm-twist the process.
The PDP in the state is locked in a fight between forces loyal to former state Chairman, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu and self acclaimed political godfather and businessman, Chief Chris Uba,
Both sides had last month slammed suspension on the rival leadership of for alleged anti party activities.
Offor said “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,” they said.
“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 tojeopardize our chances in the 2023 elections. Or in the event of 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.”
They maintained that in the event of exigency of time, the already existing ward and LGA executives can go ahead to conduct the primaries. The same committee for the repeat three Ad Hoc Congress, could equally
be mandated to conduct the National delegate elections the next day.
According to the aspirants, “This is a meeting of all aspirants under the platform of People’s Democratic Party who have purchased nomination forms to contest the 2023 general elections. The meeting
took place in the PDP secretariat Udoka estate Awka.”
“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 at 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 had been scheduled for Wednesday 4th April 2022 by the National Working Committee.”