The Senator representing Anambra North in the National Assembly and an aspirant in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State, Stella Oduah, has alleged irregularities in the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) build-up to the primary election.
Oduah, who threatened to withdraw from the race under the
platform of the PDP, made this known while briefing newsmen on Friday in Abuja.
She said that the ward congress of the party held on
Wednesday to elect three delegates per ward was fraught with “irregularities
and sabotage’’.
According to her, as if the case of hijacking was not
enough, the ultimate result of the ward congress which was submitted by the
Secretary of the panel was switched for a doctored result.
She further disclosed that she had petitioned the National
Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, over the matter,
and threatened to withdraw from the primary if the party failed to address the
problem.
The lawmaker also claimed that she and only a few other
members of the party in the state remained faithful during the turbulence in
the party that led to litigations at the national level.
Oduah said: “The exercise violated all known principles of
democratic practice. Several complaints have continued to trail the exercise as
most party faithful are disgruntled and agitated.
“Based on the above, I wrote to notify the chairman of my
protest and intention to withdraw from the 2017 gubernatorial primaries in
Anambra if the party fails to address the issues presented.
“This is because the approach employed for the party primary
is not aimed at winning election.
“The implication of this is to subject loyal party faithful
to stressful and rancorous primary to weaken and sap the strength of candidate
that will emerge from the exercise.
“It should be recalled that this has been the reason our
party has been losing gubernatorial elections in Anambra.
“There is no doubt that our party has undergone a torturous
battle. Along the line, some wavered and many of our members dropped and a lot
others left the mainstream party.
“To the glory of God, some faithful members remained loyal
and determined to see to the end of the crisis.
“While some states were hard hit, the impact on others was
light. In many states, members of the party were abandoned to their fate like
orphans.”
“This is particularly so where we have governors at the hem
of affairs who are in the opposition.
“In such case, the burden of managing the state chapter of
our party fell on few elders and some parliamentarians elected on the platform
of the party,’’ she said.
“In Anambra, I was among the few party members who remained
faithful, and it was a challenging period for the few members of the party who
kept fate.
“At some point, I became the only senator elected on the
platform of our great party in state, but myself and a few elders kept the flag
flying until today that the party regained its glory.
“It was in view of this that the elders of the party in my
state encouraged me to step forward to lead the party in the upcoming
gubernatorial election of Nov. 18,’’ she said.
Oduah warned that the approach being adopted in the state
would not reward party loyalists or guarantee election victory.
The aspirants on the PDP platform are Dr Alex Obiogbolu,
Sen. Stella Oduah, Mr Oseloka Obaze, Mr John Emeka, Dr Patrick Ubah, Mr Akolisa
Ufodike and Ms Lynda Ikpeazu.
By Chijioke Jannah
