Factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has warned that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, risk going to jail if they refused to declare his faction’s candidate, Jimoh Ibrahim, as candidate of the PDP for the November 26 governorship election in Ondo State.
Sheriff, who was represented at a press conference yesterday by the National Secretary of his faction, Professor Wale Oladipo, stated that Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja had recently confirmed Ibrahim as candidate of the party and directed INEC to recognise him as such.
He warned that recognising another person as candidate of the PDP would be contempt of court, adding that he would as well file contempt charge against INEC, if his candidate was not recognized and his name published.
Ibrahim emerged from a parallel primary election conducted by Sheriff’s faction, few days after the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee produced Mr Eyitayo Jegede as candidate for the election.
The former Borno governor pointed out that the crisis bedeviling the PDP, “has assumed a national security issue,” adding that democracy was being threatened because of the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the leading opposition PDP, to chart a way forward towards deepening democracy in the country.
His words, “We are mindful of the expectations of Nigerians and hope that Nigerians have interest in the PDP. Sheriff and Makarfi are determined to do the reconciliation to a logical conclusion but due process must be followed.
“Dividend of democracy depends on the vibrancy of the ruling and the opposition parties. So, we must make sacrifices to ensure our democracy survives. It is more important for Jimoh Ibrahim to contest as candidate of the PDP than lose Ondo State.”
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