The North-East leaders of the Ali-Modu Sheriff-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has strongly kicked against the listing of Jimoh Ibrahim as the Ondo State governorship candidate of the party by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The leaders, under the aegis of ‘PDP Like-Minds, North-East Zonal Faction Loyal to Sen Modu Sheriff’, said following a careful review of the process leading to the emergence of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as the party’s duly elected candidate, they had opted to endorse him.
The leaders attributed their decision to the transparency in Jegede’s emergence as the party’s flag bearer and his pedigree.
In a communiqué issued in Yola, Adamawa State, and signed by the Convener of the group, Hon. Crowther Seth, the leaders noted that the process that produced Ibrahim as the party’s candidate was fraudulent and did not comply with normal process of conducting an election primary.
According to the group, Ibrahim was elected in Oyo State, with no representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in attendance, whereas Jegede was elected in Akure, the Ondo State capital, with INEC representatives present.
It said, “INEC’s travesty of justice in recognising Jimoh Ibrahim, instead of Tayo Jegede whose primaries it supervised, in Ondo, as the bonafide candidate of the PDP for the Ondo guber polls, calls to question the relevance of the electoral umpire in midwifing unimpeachable electoral outcomes in the country.”
The group further slammed the INEC, saying, “INEC, after relying on the judgement of a court of coordinate jurisdiction to uphold the candidate presented by the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction for the Edo State governorship election, should know that it was not bound to uphold the judgement coming from any high court, if not an appellate court, unless the commission is out to carry out a script.”
They called on their chairman, Sheriff “to speak up and take a position instead of prevaricating”, a situation which they said “is further polarising the PDP”.
The North-East leaders added, “We want to make it abundantly clear that our support for Tayo Jegede was devoid of partisanship.
“Our consideration has always been in conformity with democratic tenets. Our support is borne out of the conviction that Jegede’s pedigree and integrity, which are unassailable, put him ahead of his peers to best serve the electorate, most especially, his antecedents.”
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