By; ODEYEMI SAMUEL, Akure.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has declared that only the electorates have the reserved exclusive right to disown a governorship candidate through the power of their votes in the forthcoming November 26, 2016 governorship election in the state.
The party also affirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no constitutional right to disown any candidate presented by a political party for a particular election, stressing that a Supreme Court pronouncement on the matter has limited the role of INEC to “mere observer” during party primaries.
The party in a statement issued in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Thursday and signed by its Director of Media/Publicity in the State, Yemi Akintomide, urged those who assumed the role of the court in validating or otherwise of a party candidate to desist from the unlawful act, and stop deceiving the good people of the state.
Akintomide said; “it’s laughable for anybody to declare a democratic process of electing a party flag bearer that fulfilled all known norms and practices of the party electoral college, as null and void simply because INEC official was absent to observe the primary.
“The Constitution only direct a political party to notify INEC in writing, its intention to conduct a primary election on a particular date and venue as determined by her National Working Committee (NWC), stipulated within the time frame and Election timetable by INEC.
“Our party, the PDP, in line with INEC guidelines and Election time table, conducted her Governorship primary in Ibadan, the zonal headquarter of our party last Monday, and at the end of the poll, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim was declared as the governorship candidate for the November 26 election.”
The party spokesman warned those who dressed themselves in borrowed rope of a judge to sanction and pronounce the Ibadan governorship primary held on Monday August 29, 2016 as “a mere scam”, while ignorantly upholding a similar exercise held on August 22, 2016 in Akure, that produced Barr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as a candidate, to stop living in a fool’s paradise.
“Come to think of it, when has it become the headache and main concern of these political prostitutes and party hijackers to monitor political movement of our candidate, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim even when their own leader had romanced every notable political party since the advent of democratic governance in our country, and is yet to reach his final destination.
“It will be good to repeat to their defying ears that all it need is for them and their cohorts to patiently wait for the court to decide and pronounce judgment on cases before it while the law takes it due course; instead of wasting large junk of energy on whether Barrister Ibrahim publicly declared for the Accord Party or has not yet relinquished his membership of the party at the time he picked the PDP ticket,” the statement read in part.
Akintomide however, urged the people of the state to lend their support to Barrister Ibrahim for a robust and massive development of infrastructures and human resources for better living and pragmatic change from the old order.
