June 03, (THEWILL) – Aspirants for the positions of house of assembly, house of representatives, senate and governor, under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi State Chapter, have insisted on the primary elections which were approved by the National Working Committee (NWC) and held on 28th and 29th of May, 2022, in Ebonyi State.
Speaking on behalf of the aspirants, former house of representatives member and a senatorial aspirant for Ebonyi central senatorial zone, Hon. Lazarus Ogbe, who noted that the rumour for a fresh primaries in the state, was an invitation of crisis, and not healthy as the country is preparing for a general election.
According to him, the delegates that nominated the house of assembly, house of representatives, senate and governor were legitimately elected across the 171 wards of the state. He added that the primaries were conducted in the presence of INEC and security agents.
He said, “candidates were nominated on 28th and 29th to fly the flag of the party, ranging from house of assembly, house of representatives and governor. I want to recall that the NWC of the party scheduled the primary in Ebonyi on 28th and 29th of May. It is on record that because of the little crisis in the party, there was no primary election in Ebonyi State when other states nominated their representatives.
“Three man delegates were elected in the 171 wards of the state. The delegates are in turn expected to vote for the candidate of their choice and this they did from the 28th and 29th of May.
“The state chairman conducted the primary that was monitored by INEC, security agencies, the DSS, and journalists monitored the primary that was done in the open.The election was certified as the most transparent in the history of the party in the state.
“Today, we started hearing rumours that the same NWC has reversed themselves and directed that the same primary election be conducted on the same position. There was no reason or breach of the party guidelines that another set of primary be conducted in the state.
“It is on this note that we want to appeal to the party to allow peace reign in the state. I have never seen where two persons are contesting for the same position in the same party. We do not want to experience what transpired in Zamfara and Rivers states on the side of APC.
“We want the NWC to intervene in the matter and allow those they have nominated in their votes to stand in Ebonyi State PDP. All the delegates were picked from the 171 wards of the state. INEC has the list of delegates nominated in the 171 ward. We appeal that if there is any interest playing out, the appeal should be played down in the interest of the party.
“The guber primary was conducted in the open. The house of assembly primary was also conducted in the open and all other primaries were conducted in the open. From that day the primary election was conducted, we have not heard of any infractions. We so much appeal to them to allow peace in Ebonyi State and prepare for the general election”, Ogbe appealed.
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Sunday Ogbu is a professional journalist with eight - twelve years experience that had worked with various print and online media. Sunday specializes in news reporting with the aim of educating his readers on current social, political and economic occurences within his area of coverage. Sunday is a strong force to work with in the media industry and uses his positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. Sunday is inspired daily by his wife and their four children. In his free time, Sunday likes sight-seeing, reading and discussing issues of societal interest.
