Lagos – The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State has no valid candidates for the 2019 governorship and Borno Central senatorial election, a coalition, Yerwa-Oodua PDP support group, declared on Sunday.
The group, with headquarters in Ijora, is “the coming together of hundreds of PDP members from Borno State who live in southwestern states of Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo.”
Speaking at a press conference at the end of its 26th quarterly stakeholders meeting, which began on Friday and ended at the weekend in Lagos, the publication of the names of Mohammed Imam for the governorship and Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji for the Borno Central senatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is an exercise in futility because both men are not valid candidates
Chairman of the group, Bakura Goni Makinta and his secretary, Mustapha Mustapha, who spoke in English and Hausa, said unless the INEC adopts the former Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil as PDP governorship candidate, as well as a former Speaker of the State Assembly, Bukar Kachallah as the PDP candidate for Borno Central senatorial election, as the situation stands, candidates of the PDP will go into the 2019 elections unopposed.
They added that whereas some PDP members were making reference to 2011 in which an incumbent governor lost the Borno Central senatorial election to PDP, they ignore the fact that back in 2011, the PDP had the advantage of Mohammed Goni as its governorship candidate whose popularity influenced outcomes of the National Assembly elections and in addition, the APC currently has popular candidates besides the advantage of a President Muhammadu Buhari, who was in the CPC as at 2011 when an incumbent governor lost the Senate to the PDP.
“Ahead of the 2019 general election, the PDP in Borno State does currently have no valid candidates particularly for the governorship and Borno Central senatorial election until ongoing court appeal cases between the two factions of the party are determined in weeks to come. Notwithstanding publication of the names of Mohammed Imam for the governorship and Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji for the Borno Central senatorial election by the INEC, the two persons are not valid candidates because their primaries were conducted by an unlawful state executive committee under the so-called chairmanship Zannah Gaddama whereas a Federal High Court in Maiduguri had two months ago delivered a judgment clearly recognising that the valid state executives of the PDP in Borno State are those under Usman Baderi as state chairman. That judgment was well reported by journalists in Borno State”.
The group said the Federal High Court judgment still subsists because there is so far no order by any court of competent jurisdiction setting aside that federal high court judgment citing that the PDP state secretariat near Sir Kashim Shettima way in Maiduguri is under the use of Alhaji Usman Baderi while the illegal chairman, Zanna Gaddama operates from a private residence.
“Based on its lawful recognition by the federal high court in Maiduguri, the PDP state executives under Usman Baderi’s leadership has since held its credible primary elections and has produced the former Minister of state for power, Mohammed Wakil as PDP governorship candidate in Borno State and a former speaker in the Borno State House of Assembly, Alhaji Bukar Kachallah as the PDP candidate for Borno Central senatorial election”.
“We are very optimistic that very soon, the court will in reaffirming its earlier judgment, give an order to the INEC to uphold the names of Alhaji Mohammed Wakil as our governorship and Bukar Kachallah for the Borno Central senatorial election as our candidates elected from lawful primary elections,” the group said.
Speaking further, the group noted that the PDP has no chance ahead of the governorship and the Senate because “Mohammed Imam does not have the pedigree to challenge the APC governorship candidate who is a very popular professor with known records of deep involvement in the rebuilding of many communities destroyed by Boko Haram in about 20 local government areas of Borno State.”
The post PDP Group Rejects Imam, Abba-Aji As Guber, Senatorial Candidates appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Daily Independent
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