By John Ugo, Awka
A support group loyal to the People’s Democratic Party under the umbrella of the PDP Partners for Progress has said that the party is limited to two options to avoid the dangers of a legal logjam and disquiet as preparations gear up ahead of the party’s Governorship primaries in Ekiti State.
Also, the group urged the Chief Iyorchia Ayu-led National leadership of the party to approach the Ekiti matter with “political wisdom and intelligence,” pointing out that “the absence of justice could truncate the entire exercise and deny the PDP a candidate and victory.”
The PDP Partners, in a statement in Abuja, which was signed by its coordinator, Mohammed Giwa, and made available to newsmen said the two options left for PDP in Ekiti was to either conduct Direct Primaries or use only the statutory (Super) delegates as recognised by the party’s constitution and guidelines.
The group said, “The PDP leadership cannot ask Senator Abiodun Olujimi to withdraw her case in court because former Governor Ayodele Fayose immediately defaulted in the implementation of the agreement reached, while he still controls the party executives in the majority 14 local governments.”
“We believe that the NWC cannot unfairly ask the other aspirants in Ekiti to go into an election where Fayose, who is not an aspirant, boasts of controlling the party executives, yet political watchers have accused him of fielding a weak aspirant and nursing a secret pact with Governor Kayode Fayemi.”
They noted that,”Although Fayose has said on Channels TV that he is ready for any option, while the other aspirants may elect for the statutory option, the party can as well consider the idea of a direct mode for the governorship primary.”
“The PDP must understand the importance of the two off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun States to the party’s success in the 2023 elections and the need to avoid the slippery slope of litigation because the Supreme Court cannot be trusted anymore,” the statement said.
Members of the body said, “We have watched with keen interest the political developments in Ekiti State arising from the botched three ad-hoc delegates congress, the encumbered harmonisation report and the threat of conducting a governorship primary that could endanger the chances of the PDP.
“Since there are still pending cases in court arising from the controversial 2020 Congresses in Ekiti State, we need quickly draw the attention of the PDP leadership to the recent turn of events at the Supreme Court where the Apex court reversed itself in the case of GTB vs Innoson.”
They warned that,”While it is indisputable that the PDP has a good prospect of winning Ekiti if the party can present a viable candidate and get the other aspirants to cooperate, the looming danger, however, is in going the way of Zamfara or Rivers, where the APC lost out completely in 2019.”
“The harmonisation and reconciliation between the warring groups have failed; the three ad-hoc delegates election was a disaster; the National delegates election did not hold; there are two outstanding local government congresses; there are pending litigations, and the tensed atmosphere cannot allow the redo of these exercises,” the group said.