By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Ebonyi State have raised the alarm over the alleged plan of the National Working Committee (NWC) to nullify the primary election conducted by the party on May 28 and 29, 2022 on the grounds that they did not follow party guidelines.

Another reason given by the NWC includes that the electoral committee members did not form a quorum.

The affected candidates called on the national leadership of the party to stop such plans as all the candidates were duly elected. They spoke while addressing journalists in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

According to the leader of the group, Hon. Chief Lazarus Nweru Ogbe, the National Working Committee scheduled primary elections in Ebonyi State on May 28 and 29, 2022 which was conducted peacefully in line with the party guidelines in 171 wards of the state, but unfortunately, they started hearing rumours that the same NWC has reversed their earlier decision and rescheduled another primaries on the same position and nomination.

The group, therefore, called on the national leadership of the party to desist from such action to avoid plunging the party into crisis and scuttling their chances of winning elections in 2023 by avoiding the same scenario that occurred in Zamfara and Rivers states where both parties lost out completely.

They also urged the presidential flagbearer of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to intervene in order to restore peace in the party since all the candidates were duly elected in the primaries in line with the party guidelines.

Ogbe said: “The National Working Committee slated two days for the conduct of the norminations.The 28th of May, was State Assembly, House of Representatives and Senatorial.

“The state chapter of the party duly adhered to that directive and conducted the primaries thereby conducting very transparent primary election that was observed, monitored by INEC, security agencies at all levels.

“The election was certified as the most transparent primaries conducted in recent times.

“Unfortunately, today we started hearing rumours that the same National Working Committee that sent, directed and instructed that primary election should be conducted in the state on the 28th and 29th of 2022, reversed themselves again to direct for another primary election at the same level.

“No reason was given because the former one was duly monitored by both the party chapter, INEC and security agencies.

“There was no breach of the electoral and party guidelines recorded and we started hearing rumours today that the same National Working Committee has directed that another set of primaries be conducted in Ebonyi State for both Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives Senate, and gubernatorial.

“It is on this note that we want to appeal to the party to allow peace reign in Ebonyi State Chapter of PDP. The people have gone out to nominate candidates of their choice. There will be no need coming back to put crisis in the party by reordering for another Congress.

“Are they trying to reconduct it to have two candidates per position? I have never seen where two candidates are conducting election in the same position in the same party.

“We appeal to the NEC of PDP, major stakeholders of PDP; the National Working Committee of PDP and most importantly, the presidential flag bearer of the party to intervene in this situation to forestall crisis in the Ebonyi State Chapter of PDP so that we won’t experience what happened in Zamfara in 2019 elections on the side of APC which equally happened in Rivers State on the side of APC.

“Let them embrace the path of justice and peace, the people have spoken and have nominated their candidates from House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and Gubernatorial.”

It would be recalled that following the crisis rocking the Ebonyi State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Working Committee of the party nullified all the primary elections conducted by the former chairman, Barr. Silas Onu, on May 28 and 29, 2022 across the state and also reinstated the former chairman, Hon. Tochukwu Okorie.

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