By DADA AYOKHAI
The crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a new dimension following a petition filed to the state Police Command by the party in which it accused the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, of sundry allegations bordering on forgery, conspiracy, and unlawful assembly.
The petitioner, in this case, the Edo State PDP, forwarded its petition to the Edo State Police Command, requesting thorough investigations to establish the culpability or otherwise of the REC.
The state chairman of the party, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, who signed the petition which queried the role played by the REC during the party’s congress in May and its primaries in June, alleging the REC engaged in results “doctoring”.
The petition led to the invitation of the REC by the state Police Command, a move that not only irked the INEC but also ruffled some feathers in political circles.
Specifically, the PDP, in the petition, accused the state REC of forgery, conspiracy, and unlawful assembly.
Watchers of Edo politics have, however, described the petition as an “afterthought”, stating the petition seem to be like the last straw effort to salvage whatever is left of their reputation after the series of losses the faction to which the chairman belong have suffered in the law courts.
Two factions are pulling the Edo State PDP in different directions. One of the factions is led by the former state chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, while the other faction to which Dr. Aziegbemi belongs, is to the governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
Resulting of the crisis, the two factions held separate primaries, with each producing candidates for both the state and national assembly elections but since the conclusion of the congress and primaries, both factions have resorted to litigations to try and gain an edge.
The Orbih faction won the first suit instituted at the Federal High Court in Abuja, while the Appeal Court refused to take sides, insisting the matter brought before it was strictly an ” internal affairs” of the party.
Both factions must now wait for the final verdict of the Supreme Court hoping it comes before the September 28 deadline set by INEC for the submission of the list of the candidates for the various elections
