Ugwuanyi Is The Authentic PDP Governorship Candidate For Enugu State

PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Enugu State

PRESS STATEMENT

The attention of the Enugu State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been drawn to the misinformation being spun in the media by one of the former gubernatorial aspirants of the Enugu PDP, Senator Ayogu Eze, who claims to have emerged the PDP flag bearer in the December 8, 2014 gubernatorial primary election of our great party.

It has therefore become imperative to make the following clarifications:

1. The Enugu State Chapter of the PDP, in liaison with the national headquarters chose the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu as the venue for the PDP gubernatorial primary election. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, security agencies, and all delegates were duly informed of the venue for the election, and they attended and performed their respective roles.

2. The PDP Governorship Primary Election Panel from Abuja headed by King Asara Asara duly conducted the election with the official delegates list, ballot papers, and result sheets all obtained from the party headquarters and announced a result declaring Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the victor, he having obtained a total of 937 votes out of the 983 votes cast. Hon. Ugwuanyi was therefore issued with a certificate of return.

3. All the statutory delegates of the Enugu State Chapter of the PDP, including Governor Sullivan Chime and his Deputy; the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; the State Chairman of the PDP and all state party officials; all Members of the National Assembly from Enugu State (except Senator Ayogu Eze); all members of the Enugu State House of Assembly (including the Speaker and gubernatorial aspirant, Hon. Eugene Odo); all Local Government Council Chairmen and Local Government party Chairmen; Board of Trustee members, including the former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, etc. were all present and voted at the primary held at the stadium, along with the elected delegates. Some gubernatorial aspirants, such as Chief Anayo Onwuegbu and Hon. Chinedu Onu, who withdrew from the gubernatorial race in the interest of the peace and cohesion of our party, were also in attendance.

POINTS TO NOTE

1. It is noteworthy that Senator Ayogu Eze, by his own admission, claimed that his purported “election” was conducted at Filbon Hotel, Enugu. The said venue was not recognised by the PDP, its National Panel for the gubernatorial primary election, INEC, and other relevant agencies for the conduct of the election, hence their absence at the illegal venue and charade.

1. Since the bodies authorised by the party, the 1999 Constitution, and the Electoral Act 2010 to organise/supervise/observe primary elections were all absent, which ballot papers, result sheets, and certificate of return did Senator Ayogu Eze use?

1. Senator Eze also admitted that it was the delegates who were supposed to vote at the primary election that conducted his purported primary election. Who certified and accredited the delegates? Do our laws, party constitution and guidelines for primary elections permit aspirants to just assemble a handful of rented passers-by to assume both the roles of delegates, election organisers, returning officers, INEC, etc. and declare themselves winners?

1. It is not true that the National Panel told aspirants that they were using an illegal delegates list. Rather, the Chairman of the Panel, King Asara Asara, told aspirants that the Panel would only stick to the authentic and official delegates list for the primary handed to it by the national headquarters as relying on any other list brandished by any other body or person would be both illegal and a recipe for confusion.

1. The PDP has an established procedure for electing gubernatorial candidates and has followed it religiously and methodically to a conclusive end, with Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi emerging as its candidate for Enugu State. The state Chapter of the PDP, therefore, calls on its faithful and members of the public to discountenance and treat as fallacious any information or posturing to the contrary.

1. It is in view of possible dissatisfactions that the national headquarters of the party set up an Appeal Panel for each primary election. Senator Ayogu Eze, like every other member of our great party, is aware of this and if he feels aggrieved about the outcome of the primary, he should take his case to the Appeal Panel rather than resort to disparaging the party in the media.

Dr. Okey Eze

State Publicity Secretary

10th Dec. 2014