The new Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Tochukwu Okorie, has called on the congress Appeal Committee of the party to disregard the petition against him by his rival during the state congress of the party, Silas Onu.
Okorie, who said the petition is frivolous and baseless, urged the committee to dismiss the petition because “there was no truth in it.”
Okorie stated on Sunday while presenting copies of his purchase receipt and his nomination form submitted to party Headquarters within the stipulated timeframe in Abuja as proof to newsmen in Abakaliki, the state capital.
He then called on Onu, to retrace his steps and join hands with the newly elected executive committee of the party to rebuild the party rather than making blunders in the media.
According to him, there is no victor and there is no vanquished.
It should be recalled that seven aspirants had initially indicated their interests to vie for the position of the Chairman of the PDP Ebonyi State chapter. Five out of that number however willingly withdrew from the contest, paving the way for a contest between Mr Silas Onu and Mr Tochukwu Okorie.
The State Congress Committee Chairman, Senator Ben-Collins Ndu, declared Okorie as the winner after the congress.
In his petition to the PDP Congress Appeal Committee made available to the media, Onu alleged that Okorie failed to meet the minimum requirements for nomination and therefore did not qualify to stand election at the congress.
He accused the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) of gifting Okorie a nomination form contrary to the guidelines which stipulate that an aspirant must purchase a form for N750,000.
He also claimed that Okorie failed to meet the party’s deadline for the purchase and submission of forms concluding that the party had a preset template for the emergence of Okorie as the party’s chairman.
When contacted, the leader of the party in the State and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim affirmed Okorie’s position and said the party is now repositioned to retake the state after the unceremonious exit of Governor Dave Umahi.
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