Aggrieved aspirants storm Abuja with casket in protest over disqualification.
From TAIWO AMODU, Abuja
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants, who were disqualified from participating in last weekend state assemblies primaries yesterday stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja with coffin in protest.
The aspirants, who came with party thugs, carrying empty coffins, blocked the entrance to Wadata Plaza.
National Woman Leader, Kema Chikwe and National Vice Chairman, South-South of the party, Cairo Ojougboh, were turned back by the aspirants.
Some of them, who spoke with newsmen accused the PDP National Working Committee and the state chapter of the party of conniving with former Minister of State for Education and governorship aspirant, Nyesom Wike of frustrating their aspirations.
A state Assembly aspirant, Davis Saloka, from Eleme constituency, said they were at the PDP secretariat to kick against the “open robbery perpetrated against them by the party.”
Saloka told newsmen that no fewer than 107 members of the party paid to obtain the expression of interest and nomination forms, but noted that only 32, whom he claimed were loyalists of Nyesom, were given what he called “dubious clearance,” while the rest of them were disqualified.
“We all bought forms to participate in the PDP primary election but what we saw was out of the ordinary.
“We attended the screening exercise but we did not know our fate until Friday night when we saw a list pasted, indicating that only 32 persons were cleared to participate in the election.
“We discovered that those nominated from Wike’s camp were given clearance which gave them automatic ticket while the rest of us were screened out.
“The most annoying thing was that we were not told the reason we were disqualified, and it is more curious to note that all we saw was a list that was neither signed nor was on a PDP letter head, but just contained the names of Wike’s boys as the only ones cleared to participate in the party primary.
“On Saturday, they just wrote the names of these people and said they were the winners of the PDP party primary where elections were not held.
“It is injustice, we won’t accept it,” he said.
Another aspirant, Jude Nwibie, from Kana Constituency 2 spoke in similar vein and submitted that he was disqualified without any cogent reason.
He further disclosed that he went through the rigour of the screening exercise like his colleagues in accordance with the party’s guideline for the election, but was surprised that the result of the screening exercise was not made public.
He, however, said he was stupefied to see a list of 32 persons pasted a night before the party primary as the cleared aspirants for the race.
“A huge injustice was visited on us by the party just to please Wike an Ikwere man who wants to succeed another Ikwere man.
“Money was collected from us for nomination form but we were prevented from participating in any party primary,” he said.
In a joint petition signed by 31 of the aggrieved aspirants under the aegis of Coalition of Rivers State PDP House of Assembly and National Assembly aspirants, they demanded the dissolution of the Rivers State chapter of the party, led by Felix Obuah and the removal of Deputy National Chairman of the ruling party, Uche Secondus.
Source:- Sun News
