…Ad-hoc delegates list threatens Imo PDP as primary election kicks off
…APC delegates reduces to 2340 as Buhari yet to sign amended Section 84(3)
…As Party postpones screening of presidential aspiranst
By Ezeocha Nzeh and Myke Uzendu
Uncertainty has continued to trail the actual number of delegates that are expected to vote at the presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and major opposition Peoples Democratic Party, following the inability of president Muhammadu Buhari to sign Section 84 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which was recently amended and forwarded for his assent by the National Assembly
The section, which earlier barred all statutory delegates (which includes ministers, serving and former member of the National Assembly, non career Ambassadors and other government appointees from voing at the primaries was last week amended by the National Assembly, even as the president is yet to sign it into law
With the position of the statutory yet un cleared, there are strong indications that the number of delegates for the ruling APC would drastically reduce from the estimated above 7000 to about 2340, who were recently elected on the bases of three for each of the 774 Local government areas, while 18 will emerge from the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
While the PDP presidential primary holds on May 28 and 29, the APC has slated its own primaries for May 29 and 30, all holding simultaneously at the MKO Abiola National Stadium and Eagle Square in Abuja respectively
However, amidst reports og of horse trading and lobbying over a possible consensus candidate , the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) late Sunday, announced the [postponement of the screening of its 25 presidential aspirants, which was earlier slated for today (Monday)
A statement issued late Sunday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felixs Morka said “ The Screening Exercise for Presidential Aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier scheduled to be held on Monday, May 23rd, 2022, is hereby postponed,
“A new date for the exercise will be announced shortly. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.”
For the opposition PDP, there has been crisis over the elected ad hoc as witnessed during the commencement of it’s primary elections yesterday (Sunday) with it’s 3-man ad-hoc delegates list.
The twist in the delegate arrangement was sequel to the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended Electoral Act. The earlier Act had excluded or omitted the use of statutory delegates for the purposes of conducting party primary election.
PDP had on Saturday announced that only the 3-man ad-hoc delegates will be allowed to participate in the exercise.
The party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature said, “The NWC further clarifies that by virtue of Section 84(8) of the Electoral Act, 2022, those qualified and eligible to vote as delegates in the forthcoming Primaries and National Convention of our great Party are the three (3) AD-HOC Delegates per ward, elected at the Ward Congresses and one (1) National Delegate per Local Government, elected at the Local Government Area Congresses”.
This position reduces the number of delegates to elect State Assembly Members to about twenty members in some states.
Be that as it may, about 811 delegates will be expected to vote at the PDP convention comprising of 774 national delegates (1 Per LGA and 37 special delegates (People with disability from each of the 36 states and FCT).
The process that led to the election of ad-hoc delegates has been raising a lot of concerns in some state. Some stakeholders in states like Imo are already in court challenging the outcome. The party had hoped to use statutory delegates in areas where the ad-hoc election ran into murky waters but now has no other option than to use the controversial list since doing otherwise will be an infringement on the electoral act.
Before now, most of the aspirants had concentrated their lobby with the statutory delegates who were already pre-identified critical stakeholders and influencers.
The development no doubt has put the fate of the some aspirants on the palms of the governors or party leaders in the state who were instrumental to the emergence of the ad-hoc delegates.
In Imo state, the infighting for delegates between former governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha and the party’s National Secretary has led to the postponement of the primary election.
The state Organising Secretary, Law Biadui in a statement on Saturday announced that the exercise has been postponed adding that a new date will be announced later.
The party was earlier dragged to court by Ugochinyere Imo who accused Anyanwu of arm twisting the party and forcing the delegates on the party without going through die process
In Abia state, Senate Minority leader, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe and some Governorship aspirants had earlier threatened that the party will lose Abia State if it goes ahead with the 3-man ad-hoc delegates list which according to them does not satisfy the provisions of the electoral act.
In a statement dated May 20, 2022, the governorship aspirants and chieftains in Abia said no ward congresses were conducted in the state; hence the delegates’ list to be used for primaries in the state is a “nullity”.
“By now, most citizens and residents of Abia State and indeed Nigeria have become aware of the impending implosion and destruction of PDP in Abia State,” the statement reads.
“The NWC of PDP scheduled Congresses for election of 3-Man Ward Adhoc Delegates in most States of Nigeria for the 30th day of April 2022. The Congresses could not hold that day because the NWC was restrained by a Court Order from holding it. Subsequently, it was alleged that the Court Order had been vacated and on that basis, the National Chairman and Secretary of PDP jointly signed a letter to INEC rescheduling the Congresses for Wednesday the 4th day of May 2022. On that day the Congress did not hold as well and this is not in dispute.
“What is in dispute is that whereas, the majority of faithful party members in Abia State were waiting for the National Chairman and Secretary of PDP to reschedule the Congresses and inform INEC accordingly, an individual and his acolytes simply wrote a list of Adhoc Delegates across the 184 wards of Abia State which they are pushing the NWC to accept as the authentic list of Adhoc Delegates in Abia State.
“These unconscionable cabal falsely claim that Congresses held in Abia State when every truthful person in Abia State generally and PDP members, in particular, know that no Congresses held anywhere in Abia State.”
The governorship aspirants alleged that Alwell Okere, PDP chairman in the state, was made to “concoct a letter” dated May 4, 2022, when the initial congresses were fixed and addressed it to the resident electoral commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state conveying the list of the committee members to conduct a congress on May 6.
According to the party chieftains, the notice was received by the REC on May 5, adding that “notices take effect on the date they are received. Thus the REC (not INEC) received a day’s notice of the sham congress going by the records of the cabal”.
It was also gathered that some delegates for Ibadan South East House of Assembly Constituency II Oyo State have been chased out of the venue of the primary election.
They claimed they were chased out of Saint John Primary School, Alake, Academy, Ibadan, venue of the primary election.
Some of those who spoke alleged that some chieftains of the party were moving around the venue of the primary with military men supposed to provide security for delegates.
They noted that the chieftains of the party were doing what they were doing in order to intimidate their perceived opposition within the party.
