By DADA AYOKHAI
The intra-party crisis rocking the Edo State PDP further deepen following the decision of one of the rival factions to proceed in issuing certificates of returns to the candidates who emerged at its parallel congresses, in absolute disregard for the pending court rulings on the matter.
A pissed Hon Paschal Ugbome seething with anger and repulsion at the development, described the purported actions said to have been sanctioned by National and executed by the Edo state PDP chairman, Hon Tony Aziegbemi, as “panicky and a desperate measure to undermine the rule of law”.
In a reaction to the development, Hon Ugbome, a former Etsako Central council chairman and lawmaker, condemned the actions of the state party chairman, saying it is tantamount to “contempt of court” since the two rival factions are still contesting the ruling of the Court of Appeal at the apex court.
Hon Ugbome is also a senatorial candidate of the party for the Edo North ticket. Incidentally, he is of the Chief Dan Orbih faction of the party, one of the rival factions in the tussle for supremacy with the Obaseki/Shaibu faction.
According to Hon Ugbome, it is a sign of panic and desperation on the part of the state party chairman to issue a certificate of returns to candidates of one of the two rival factions when he is well aware that the case is still a subject of litigation, having gone through the lower and Appeal Court respectively, and now at the Supreme Court for final resolution.
Hon Ugbome berated the other faction for not being patient enough to wait for the final verdict by the courts but instead chose to make a mockery of the issues in contention, adding, however, that by the time the case goes through the whole gamut of the judicial process, he is optimistic the “illegal act” perpetrated by the state party chairman would be duly declared illegal and void
Both factions produced candidates for the state and national assembly elections, at parallel congresses held in different venues across the state.
In addition, Hon Ugbome appealed for calm among members of the party, stressing in due course all the contentious and counterclaims about which of the rival factions produced the authentic candidates would be laid to rest,
He said, “Ordinarily, what happened on Wednesday ought not to attract a response from a serious-minded person but then this is politics and people can easily get carried away by lies and half-truths, and it is for that reason alone that some of us must not allow our people to be led astray.
“We have been at loggerhead with the other faction on several issues and because they became obstinate and refused to make compromises, the matter ended in the court for proper adjudication. They fired the first salvo and we only responded accordingly. As I speak, there is no basis for what the state party chairman did on Wednesday. His actions portend contempt but we will be patient and not become lawbreakers like them
Afraid of losing their support base, seeing the way their supporters were leaving them in droves, the state party chairman, in a last-ditch attempt to give the semblance that all is well in their fold, concocted the certificate issuance ceremony.
” In truth, the case is before the Supreme Court and it is wrong for one of the parties not to wait for the case to run its full course. I think I have an idea as to why they have thrown caution to the wind. For example, they have been peddling some fake documents purportedly signed by some party national officers to justify their illegal actions, whereas the same national officers were served with a letter from INEC based on the rulings of the lower court in which candidates who emerged at our various congresses were recognized as the authentic candidates of the party in the state”.
Hon Ugbomeh, also reacted to his candidacy, saying he is worried about the level of impunity and the extent the “forces” went in trying to replace him with someone who defected from the APC to the PDP at the eleventh hour, contrary to equity and justice
He noted the attempt to supplant the popular will of the people freely given to him by the PDP delegates as one that cannot survive the test of time, adding as at the time the ticket was gifted to him, he was still a bonafide member of the APC.
He further submitted that he is very optimistic about what is happening in Edo PDP at the moment, insisting by the time the court processes are concluded, it will help instill discipline and deepen democracy and warned the party leaders not to take the grace
