INEC recognises Orbih’s faction of Edo PDP

The supremacy battle for the soul of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State between Governor Godwin Obaseki and the National Vice Chairman, South-South, Chief Dan Orbitz, was temporarily settled on Tuesday as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), officially recognised State and National Assembly candidates produced by the Orbih faction of the party.

It would be recalled that the PDP held its primaries nationwide in May this year, but in Edo State, both Governor Obaseki and Chief Orbih’s factions held parallel primaries and consequently produced candidates for different elective positions at both ends.

The Obaseki faction, in a move, believed as preemptive, had a penultimate week, issued certificates of return to its candidate at the party’s secretariat in Benin, during a ceremony presided over by the State Chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi.

The parallel primaries held in the state and the consequent emergence of winners at both ends for different elective positions have been the subject of litigations in various courts across the country and its attendant conflicting judgements.

But on Tuesday, the umpire, INEC, displayed the list of candidates at the Benin office of the Commission.

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Tribune Online observed that the list of candidates displayed on the Commission’s public notice board indicated that they are the ones who emerged winners at the primaries conducted by the Orbih’s faction.

The INEC in the published list remarked that its action was ordered by the court.

Reacting to the development, the State Deputy Chairman of the party, Harrison Omagbon, enthused that the development had put paid to the recent presentation of certificates by the State Chairman of the party to candidates of Governor Obaseki faction of the party.

“This put paid to what the Chairman did the other time. Some of us called the Chairman that what he was doing was ultra vires. We didn’t want to take him up because it would have amounted to contempt on his part because the matter was in court.

“Article 84(1) of the Electoral Act says that INEC shall (must) monitor all primaries and the constitution of the PDP says that the chairman of the ward is the chairman of the Congress Committee. The list of candidates they are parading, which ward chairman monitor their Congress?, Omagbon queried.

The State Chairman, Aziegbemi, while reacting, urged members of the Obaseki’s faction of the party to remain calm and await the final court decision on the matter.

“I am sure you know that there are court cases pending, INEC is obeying the court order by publishing these names but until the candidates exhaust all their cases in court, there cannot be a final opinion on this. Until all the parties exhaust their cases in court, we are PDP and we will wait for the final judgment so there is nothing much,” Aziegbemi said.

On his part, the candidate for Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency, Nosa Adams, described the development as victory for the PDP.

“It is basically a situation of victory for the PDP for me, it is a situation of no victor, no vanquished. All I am concerned about is how we can win the elections for PDP. Our target is for our party to win the elections; produce the president, the members of the senate and the House of Representatives. Nobody has been defeated, truly PDP has won because, in the PDP, we believe in the rule of law which is the beacon of any democracy. All of us should be prepared to go for the election and win for PDP,” Adams admonished.

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