PDP campaign coordinator tells Atiku not to campaign in Edo until party crisis is resolved

One of the campaign coordinators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the south-south, Omobumhe Umoru, has barred the party from holding presidential campaign in Edo State, until the crisis the State party is resolved.

Omobumhe Umoru in a statement he communicated  to the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and the Director-General of the PDP presidential campaign council, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, protested that the crisis in Edo State PDP must be resolved before the party can hold any campaign in the state.

Umoru, coordinator of PDP mobilisers in Edo State, protested that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has failed to unite the PDP in the state.

Umoru complained that the PDP chairman, Ayu, doctored  the delegates’ list adopted for the PDP presidential primary, arguing that Ayu’s manipulations “brought so much division” in the Edo PDP.

Umoru told the PDP to “disregard” any assurance given by Governor Obaseki that the PDP campaign will successfully hold in Edo State, saying “it will spring more disgraceful surprises to you all.”

In the statement, Umoru declared: “The Edo State Chapter of the PDP has always worked and lived in peace and approached elections as a strong force which has consistently delivered for the Party overall. 2023 is looking to be different because of the divisiveness brought in by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

“This whole unfortunate saga started playing out on our stage in 2020 when the former National Chairman of our Party, in the person of H.E. Prince Uche Secondus, and some now featherweight politicians, which the members of Edo PDP refer to as Abuja Politicians, in connivance with former NC, went against the Party’s rules and foisted APC’s rejected aspirants, though they were still in office at the time, in the person of H.E Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy Phillip Shaibu, upon reasonable people because to them we must win Edo at all cost not minding whose name appears on the ticket, if he is competent or not.

“In an age where an Omoregie Ogbeide Ihama would have been the best striker in our political football team for the Edo 2020 Gubernatorial championship.

“You all cannot claim that you’re not aware of the level the infighting in Edo PDP has gotten to. You certainly are aware of the series of litigations the party at the State level is involved in.

“If you feign knowledge of what is happening, you certainly cannot deny that the list recognised by the NC during the Presidential Primary didn’t get to cast the vote at the event that produced H.E. Atiku Abubakar, it was the legacy PDP members led by Chief Dan Osi Orbih that voted at the primary elections.

“Shortly after that, the NC Sen. Iyorchia Ayu sent the names that were not produced at the various primaries in Edo State to INEC as the flagbearers of the Edo State Chapter at various levels.

Advertisement

“He was aware that our State Chapter had a congress in March 2020 which produced the State, LGAs and Wards Executives. Yet the NC and his team deemed it fit to compel INEC to remove the names of those duly elected as flagbearers.

“This is, therefore, the focus of this timely open letter. The Campaign team visiting Edo State will definitely want to hand over flags to the various elected candidates of our Party at the State level as is Customary.

“Now, which of the faction are you going to hand over the flags to? We certainly are not keen at this time to welcome the NC that has brought so much division to the Party, especially in our State.

“If you have the magic power to control the outburst or the uproar and perhaps direct confrontation that will spring forth in Edo State as a result of what the NC and our greedy featherweight politicians have caused, you can proceed with the planned campaign scheduled to hold in our dear State.

“But as a loyal party member, I have the mandate of the entire members of the PDP Mobilizers Edo Chapter to demand that the proposed campaign for our State should be postponed till the court gives her verdict or the crisis rocking our boat is put under control and peace is duly served; the Southern block of the party is pacified and equity reigns; Sen. Iyorchia Ayu resigns peacefully; the unifier unites all interest groups into a single entity.”

This is coming as the PDP is still contending with the agitation of the PDP five governors (G5) who are demanding the resignation of PDP national chairman, Ayu. The G5 members also pulled out of the Atiku presidential campaign.