By DADA AYOKHAI
The leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akoko-Edo LGA has kicked against the illegal substitution of the party chairmanship candidate in the scheduled local government elections, Mr Sylvester Amune.
The leaders agitation which came in form of protest took them to the PDP state secretariat in Benin and the office of the state independent electoral commission Esiec.
In protest letter signed by Chief Sunny Okomayin and presented to Mr. Osasere Adagbonyin, Administrative Secretary, Edo State chapter of PDP at the party’s secretariat in Benin for onward delivery to the party’s chairman, Anthony Aziegbemi.
According to the protesters in a letter titled “Restoration of stolen mandate”, said the Akoko-Edo constituency vehemently kicked against the attempt to superimpose the person of Tajudeen Alade on Sylvester Amune who won the local government chairmanship primaries.
Okomayin said Amune won the primaries and EDSIEC has declared him winner and even went as far as publishing his name.
“We the Leaders and Constituents of Akoko Edo Local Government Area hereby reject in absolute terms the attempt to substitute the mandate we willingly and willfully gave to Sylvester Amune during the last PDP Local Government Area Chairmanship primaries held recently at igarra.
They said, Amune won overwhelmingly due to our unanimous resolve to endorse him as our candidate for the chairmanship election scheduled for September2, 2023.
According to them, EDSIEC declared him as the winner of the primaries and published his name accordingly to the admiration of the entire Local Government Area .
Okomayin said that the so-called Tajudeen Alade that has been superimposed on them, was never cleared in the first instance to contest in the primaries and wonders how he is now the chairmanship candidate for the forthcoming election.
They further stated that, to their greatest surprise and charging, Engr. Amune’s name has now been substituted with Tajudeen Alade who did not meet the basic party’s stipulated requirement that every aspirant for the post of Local Government Area must win his unit and ward and so was initially not cleared by the Party’s Screening Committee to go for primaries.
We have been reliably informed that the state party leadership has subverted the will of the people by substituting Engr. Amune’s name with Tajudeen Alade. This is highly incomprehensible and totally unacceptable”, Okomayin said.
Responding, the state chairman of the party, Anthony Aziegbemi said the party will look into their complaints just as he admonished the aggrieved protesters to go about their protest peacefully.
