By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Arena of rejection has continued to trail the conduct of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ad-hoc delegates congress conducted by the party in Akwa Ibom State on Saturday.
It would be recalled that the exercise which was meant to democratically elect three ad-hoc delegates for each of the 329 recognised electoral wards in the state, was enmeshed with tension and apprehension as thousands of aspiring adhoc delegates who trooped out with their supporters for the election were stranded in their various PDP offices across the state as no materials were seen.
Rather than materials seen for a smooth, fair and transparent conduct of congress at ward centres across the state, the materials were hijacked by agents of few power blocs loyal to government anointed governorship aspirant, Pastor Umo Eno.
Other aspiring delegates opposed to imposition were disenfranchised, thus expressing deep frustration over the development, stressing that the party should be ready to organise fresh election or face legal actions.
Some of disenfranchised aspirants were quoted as alleging, “no single party office across the state have received any material for the election as that they have been diverted to private homes of party chieftains working for MPM”
According to Mr Willy Etim an aspiring delegate from Uruan Council Area,” We gathered that the National officials brought to organise the election got compromised by MPM members to help work for Pastor Umo Eno’s emergence and they obliged. We were waiting there for materials since 8am till 2pm no news.”
”I am aware that the materials were safely diverted to politicians private homes where the election and the results had been prepared in favour of aspiring delegates selected by MPM officers, we are awaiting for their next line of action” Mr Paulinus Ekong an aspiring delegate from Uyo had told Journalists.
When contacted, Dr Usoro I. Usoro, the Spokesman for Akwa UbokAbasi Campaign Organisation, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan’s a.k.a OBA campaign structure, said:
“Of course, we are not satisfied with the conduct of yesterday’s polls for the ad hoc delegates. My Principal, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan, already made that clear yesterday, when he, along with some other governorship aspirants visited the state secretariat of PDP.
“The truth is that our supporters, who also bought forms to contest that election were carefully schemes out.
“Every election is a process and not event. So, when the state PDP led by Rt Hon Aniekan Akpan issued a statement a night to the primary that only duly cleared aspirants will be allowed to contest, the grounds were already prepared to disenfranchise certain aspirants.
“Someone sat somewhere and carefully prepared a list of those supposedly ‘cleared’ aspirants and then they stage-managed a charade of a congress.
“The question is, when was any screening done for aspirants? Who were the members of the panel? When was the panel set up? Where was it announced and how come only aspirants believed to be loyalists of the governor’s preferred aspirant got cleared? Is the state party empowered by law to screen aspirants for ad hoc election?
“Yesterday, in most local governments of the state, government appointees simply loaded some buses with thugs, drove the same set of people from one location to another and took pictures of the same persons lining up behind their supposed ‘cleared’ aspirants”, Chief Usoro said.
Worried about what transpired in the state, compared to what is promised to Nigerians by PDP hierarchy in Abuja, Senator Akpan’s Campaign Spokesman said, “Clearly, what happened yesterday in Akwa Ibom, as well as the skewed processes that preceded it, went against the new PDP that the national leadership promised Nigerians.
“The party constitution and the electoral law are clear on the processes and conduct of primaries. So, we are not satisfied with what happened yesterday and even the so-called clearance”, he added.
