A socio-political activist and senatorial aspirant for Lagos Central on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has alleged that the PDP party structure in Lagos has been hijacked by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), calling the PDP National Working Committee to urgently wade into the matter before it snowballs into a crisis that can tear the party apart.
Onitiri said the future of Lagos State PDP is already bleak and very discouraging as APC had commandeered the state chapter with the influx of APC members at the venue of the just-concluded Lagos State gubernatorial primary election.
According to him, thousands of known APC members allegedly took over the venue of the PDP primaries held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, through a governorship aspirant, whom he said joined the party six months ago.
“That indeed was a day many old PDP members would live to remember. What was most shocking was that man that said he came in peace within a short time, has shown his true colours and plans to hijack the party’s structure.
“Delegates of the party were sidelined by the people that just came into the party a few months ago in connivance with PDP leaders known for a history of working against the party during elections. In spite of the state executives’ objection to the skewed adhoc list, they forced their way to ensure that their candidate emerged winners, even with clear objections from all other aspirants,” Onitiri further alleged.
He pleaded with the NWC to intervene as the newcomer is already boasting of having control of the party structure and the affairs of the party.
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“The PDP Presidential candidate and other statutory bodies should as a matter of urgency, call the committee to order for the survival of the party,” the social critic warned.
He noted that all the PDP primary elections; Lagos State Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate Primary elections just concluded were in shambles.
“The whole exercise was a complete sham and a charade, as it was predetermined and the committee only came to execute personal agenda. The adhoc delegate list was not followed. No accreditation was carried out. The election venues were changed arbitrarily,” he asserted.
He alleged that the elections were not free, fair and credible as venues were picked by the favoured candidates against the venues picked and paid for by the Lagos state Exco.
“Favoured candidates paid for their venues and it was accepted by the warped election committees. The election committees were picked by the favoured candidates. The National body must act fast because the primary elections were not transparent and credible. No internal democracy was allowed in the elections. The Adhoc list brought to Lagos State was made to favour one candidate. It was a big fraud and total sell-out.
“Definitely our great party has been sold to APC. The 2023 elections will be APC vs APC in Lagos State and will greatly disappoint Lagosians who are desperately yearning for a change in the state. The elders in Lagos PDP are unfortunately not focused on victory.
“The credibility of the gubernatorial primary was further eroded when four of the six contestants withdrew. There is obviously a grave problem in the Lagos State PDP chapter. All the known stakeholders in the party have been sidelined,” he added.
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Future of PDP bleak in Lagos, APC has hijacked our structure ― Onitiri
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