Rivers PDP: 16 governorship aspirants shun appeal panel BARELY 48 hours after the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party local and ward congresses in Rivers State, 16 governorship aspirants have shunned the appeal panel that began its sitting in Port Harcourt on Monday to address the outcome of the local and ward congresses. The governorship aspirants, who had earlier boycotted the congresses, vowed that none of the delegate aspirants that were stopped from submitting their nomination forms would appear before the appeal panel. Addressing newsmen on Monday, Mr. Soalabo West, the Director General of one of the governorship aspirants, Major Lancelot Anyanya (retd.), stated that over 2,000 delegate aspirants had no confidence in the ability of the appeal panel to look into their complaints without being partial. West also alleged that members of the electoral panel led by Dr. Yakubu Gambo had links with one of the governorship aspirants, Chief Nyesom Wike. “The Chairman (of the appeal panel), Barrister Afam Okeke is a personal friend and front for Wike in some of his numerous business dealings as minister. Lambert Oparah, a member of the electoral panel, has also worked as media aide to Wike as minister. “In the circumstance, there is no basis for any appeal panel to come to Rivers State. The position is without prejudice to the fact that we have no confidence in the manifestly biased appeal panel as constituted. Another governorship aspirant, Mr. Nimi Walson-Jack, described the appeal panel sitting in Port Harcourt as a sham, adding that nobody will appear before it. “The appeal panel will only listen to appeals from those who set it up. It is clear from the characters of those selected for the appeal panel that it has been compromised from the onset. “We, the group of 16 governors acting under the coalition of governorship aspirants, do not have any iota of confidence in the so-called appeal panel and we will have nothing to do with it. “We will not and cannot give legitimacy to a sham. Let them regale themselves with the premeditated charade they have since designed for the interest of an aspirant against the collective interest and electoral fortune of our party,” Walson-Jack added. Speaking on behalf of other governorship aspirants, a former governorship candidate on the platform of the defund Action Congress, Prince Tonye Princewill, observed that the state PDP was lacking a ‘properly constituted’ executive committee in all the wards and local government areas of the state. “The PDP in Rivers State has not undertaken any registration of new party members and did not revalidate old members as required after the exit of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to the All Progressives Congress. “In addition, the party did not display party registers at the various wards prior to the conduct of the ward congresses as stipulated by the PDP constitution and guidelines. “The congress had already been done. The panel that came from the national headquarters to conduct the ward primaries had already been settled and the electoral umpire had already been compromised. “All their planning was in vain. For them the congress was just an opportunity for the masses to fight and destroy things. They do not care if Rivers people die as long as they win. We do. We care; and that’s why we stayed clear Princewill added. Reacting, the Assitant Publicity Secretary of the state PDP, Mr. Sanuel Nwanosike, said the aggrieved governorship aspirants were not members of the party. Nwanosike explained that contrary to the views of the 16 governorship aspirants, the local and ward congresses in the state were peaceful, adding that there was no quarrel and there was no fight during the exercise. “If they (governorship aspirants) were members of the PDP, they would not be causing all these distractions for the party in the state. Let it be on record that we had a peaceful exercise because genuine party members came out and participated with INEC officials monitoring it. “The truth is that nobody can raise an appeal or complaint before the appeal panel when he did not participate in the congresses. Let me also say that the Felix Obuah-led state PDP executive is focused and will remain focused,” Nwanosike said
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:02:06 +0000
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