Battle  For Delegates: Obaseki And PDP In Fight To Finish As 2 Notice Of LGA Elections Surfaces Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah(Photos)

Battle  For Delegates: Obaseki And PDP In Fight To Finish As 2 Notice Of LGA Elections Surfaces Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah(Photos)

Nigeria has never ceased to amaze me, the country is as predictable as Nollywood Movies. The reality is just dawning on everyone that the general elections are just a few months away.

Today is April 1st (we had an awesome April Fools Day message to FOOL our readers) which makes it about 56 days to party primaries. All of a sudden the politicians and even the electorates are running Kiti Kata, the usual Naija CRASH PROGRAMME SYNDROME.

Anyway, PDP Edo State is on the news again and this time around it’s all about the conflict for delegates, these delegates are the ones that would be responsible for electing representatives who would fly the party’s ticket in the general elections.

Before I go further let me make this clarification so we all can be on the same page for the purpose of this article.

This article is not centred on praise-singing, taking sides or giving out credible information to the advantage of any political party, it is simply the way I see things playing out and this is my usual means of expressing myself, I owe no one any apologies.

Going forward Edo State PDP may be in for a rough battle ahead that may consume the party to the benefit of the opposition parties. The crux of the matter is the coming PDP party primaries that would elect representatives for elective offices.

Obaseki has been displaced POLITICALLY  by Dan Orbih’s led PDP executive and the chickens may have come home to roost over Obaseki’s inability to compromise with the political leadership of PDP in the State.

If Obaseki does not get his way then everyone coming from Obaseki’s camp seeking elective offices into  EDHA or as Senators and Rep members would have purchased a DUMMY TICKET.

People would waste money for no just reason if this issue is not resolved within the ambit of maturity and compromise.

Obaseki recently hurriedly constituted a seven-member Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), headed by their chairman, Justice James Oyomire (Rtd.), to conduct elections into local government councils across the state.

The sole purpose of this action is to gather statutory delegates by Obaseki for the forthcoming PDP primaries that are scheduled for May. The PDP sales of forms are coordinated by the National Headquarters of the party.

This means no one can disenfranchise anyone from purchasing the form irrespective of the faction the member belongs to.

Herein lies the problem, which delegates are Obaseki intending to use in conducting the congress? It is clear even to the doubting Thomas and the blind that the PDP is headed for litigations over the conduct of the elections.

Giving credence to this, two letters have been submitted to EDSIEC intimating the body of its readiness to conduct its party primaries for electing their representatives who would serve as LGA chairmen and councillors.

The letter from the camp of the Governor was signed by Tony Anehin Jnr who happens to be the State Organizing Secretary of the PDP.

Then the one from Chief Dan Orbih’s camp was signed by Hilary Otsu who is the State Secretary.

Both letters have separate dates for the conduct of the election.

Matters Arising.

Obviously, the EDSIEC would honour the letter from the Governor’s camp.

Here Obaseki would definitely have the edge which makes the scoreline Obaseki:1 PDP:0.

The reality is that for two letters to emerge it means there is a sharp disagreement that only the courts can resolve.

So the PDP led by Chief Dan Orbihs’ structure which has the State Secretary signing would approach the courts to interpret who is the rightful camp to conduct the Local Government party primaries.

During this period the elections must have been conducted with Obaseki sealing victory. This brings the scoreline to Obaseki:2 PDP:0.

Then let’s fast forward to the party primaries, it is no longer news that Obaseki has lost out in the National PDP to Nyesom Wike the Rivers State Governor who is purported to be backing the Dan Orbihs camp.

In order to avoid a legitimacy crisis, at the last APC convention, the party barred political appointees from voting at the national convention of the party.

The PDP would refuse the delegates arising from the conduct of the LGA elections to participate because of pending court cases against their emergence.

The scoreline now is Obaseki: 2 Dan Orbih:1, this means the game is becoming stimulating.

Now let me take us back, in the last two weeks Dan Orbih’s camp has secured two victories in the court against Obaseki’s camp, one was the ruling that nothing like harmonisation in the PDP’s constitution and a few days ago when the court nullified Obaseki’s e registration of new PDP members.

These two cases are significant and point in one direction. If we are to follow the recent trend in the Judiciary then we can confidently say Wike has a stronghold on the judiciary, it is rumoured that it was his support to Obaseki that crushed the APC and Adams Oshiomhole in their court fightings during the Edo 2020 gubernatorial electoral era.

The court is most likely going to overrule EDSIEC’s earlier decision of accepting Obaseki’s camp.

This now brings the scoreline to Obaseki:2 Dan Orbih: 2.

Wherein lies the APC???

The APC may be lucky to be the beneficiary of the miscalculation of PDP in that when two brothers fight to the death the stranger inherits their property.

If you follow the trend carefully the APC earlier refused to participate in this election, they contemplated a court action against the hastily constituted EDSIEC.

In Obaseki’s notice of election to the State Electoral body, the sale of forms would begin on April 2nd and end the next day. Screening would commence the same third and the primary proper is to be held on April 5th.

This clearly shows desperation and maybe the albatross of the whole exercise. Now all of a sudden the APC which withdrew from the race is now back in the race.

For you to be a beneficiary of the judgment if the court rules the PDP out from illegal participation then you must have participated in the elections.

My Take.

Obaseki should be considerate of these observations to avoid unnecessary stories that touch, it is obvious that whoever is advising Obaseki has got it wrong, if I were in his shoes I would have used the LGA polls to compromise with the Dan Orbihs faction by making deals.

Then the party enters into the main PDP convention with a sharing formula for the elective offices. Obaseki should look into the consequences of all these candidates contesting on his platform. If he fails in court he would further expose them to a complicated case that would do them no good.

Then the APC are on the right track, their participation would go a long way, who knows they might break the JINX of manipulated local council polls,  recently the judiciary has been a good friend of the masses.

Check the two contradictory letters as submitted by the PDP to EDSIEC below..

My name na Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah and I am the Principal/Chairman of Bush Radio Academy.

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