PDP Denies Fresh Primaries In Ogun

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) has distanced itself from an alleged new primary election organised by Jimi Lawal for the party’s governorship aspirants in Ogun state.

Following this, the Ogun state chapter of the party on Monday suspended Lawal and four other members of the party for conducting an “illegal primary election.”

Naija News gathered that PDP’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, had sent a disclaimer to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) over the primary election on October 19, 2022, and it was acknowledged on October 20, 2022, by INEC.

Recall that the PDP NWC had appealed the judgment of an Abeokuta Federal High Court of September 27 that nullified all the primary elections earlier held by the PDP, asking the party to organise another primary within 14 days.

Therefore, the fresh primary election conducted by Lawal and his followers came as a shock to the NWC, that he would bypass the national body of the party to write INEC and conduct such a primary.

In a statement, co-signed by the National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, Ayu noted that “we write to draw the attention of the Commission to a purported primary election conducted by some persons claiming to be State Executive Members of our party, allegedly held on Monday, October 17, 2022, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

“This is coming days after the 14 days ordered by the Federal High Court for the party to conduct a fresh primary election.

“The 14 days ordered by the Federal High Court, Abeokuta division, within which the party was to conduct a fresh primary election lapsed on Tuesday, October 10, 2022, and no fresh primary was conducted in Ogun State, the party has resolved to go on appeal and rightly so.

“This, being our position, we were surprised to read both on print media and online media that some persons claiming to be part of a faction of the party conducted a fresh primary on behalf of the party on Monday, October 17, 2022, seven days after the 14 days ordered by the Federal High Court, Abeokuta division, which the party appealed against has lapsed.

“Section 50 of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (as amended in 2017) empowers the National Working Committee acting on behalf of the National Executive Committee to formulate guidelines and regulations for the nomination of candidates for election into public offices at all levels and shall be the final authority for resolving all disputes relating to the choice of candidates for the party for any election and for conveying to INEC or any other authority to whom it may concern, confirming the names or list of names of candidates of the party in any elective office in the federation. This section enjoys a plethora of judicial backing.

“The Act provided that all correspondences between the Commission and political parties must be signed by the National Chairman and National Secretary of the party and not state executives.

“We are, by this letter, notifying the commission of this illegality and to further inform the Commission that the NWC is dissociating itself from the said fresh primary election conducted by persons other than the NWC. We do not recognise these persons involved in this illegality.

“In view of the foregoing, the Commission is advised to refrain from accepting any letters or correspondences written on behalf of the party by any State Executive of Ogun State and should be circumspect in its dealings with these persons in the future.”

This article was originally published on Naija News