Anambra State national and state assembly aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who failed to secure the party’s ticket for the March 28 and April 11 elections have threatened to defect to another political party with their supporters if the leadership of PDP fails to refund them the nomination and screening fees paid before the primaries of the party last year

Speaking under the auspices of PDP Aspirants Forum, Anambra State chapter, the aspirants, who are from the three senatorial zones of the state, said they were demanding refund of their money because the party did not conduct any primaries.

They argued that those parading themselves as candidates of the party in the state declared themselves winners.

In a statement issued by the chairman of the steering committee of the aspirants’ forum, Mr. Chukwuemeka Orjiakor and secretary, Mr. Godwin Uchime, they regretted that even when the leadership of the party knew that there were no primaries, they chose to pocket the money paid by the aspirants and pretended as if nothing happened.

The statement read thus: “PDP has submitted names of those it felt had deep pockets as the candidates for the senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly in the three senatorial zones of the state.

“Those who were given tickets were predetermined by the PDP. Even though the nomination forms were bought for N4.5 million for senate, N2.5 million for House of Representatives and N1.2 million for House of Assembly, with our contact addresses, we are shocked that PDP has not deemed it proper to invite the aspirants for a meeting to take a decision on the matter.

“We had expected that after deliberately failing to organize proper primaries and treating us with contempt and levity, they should, on their own, refund us our money, including the amount extorted from us during the screening, and then compensate us for sending us on a useless misadventure.

“By giving tickets to predetermined people, it is obvious that some members of the PDP leadership do not want PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan to win election in Anambra State.”

Though some of the aspirants are already in court over the PDP controversial tickets in the state, others are believed to be holding meetings with other political parties in the state for the purpose of declaring their support for them.

News Express gathered that one of such meetings was held with the leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on Tuesday but the outcome of the meeting is still unknown.

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