…Vow To Barricade Party Offices Until Their Demands Are Met
BEVERLY HILLS, December 03, (THEWILL) – The crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took another dimension Wednesday as aggrieved aspirants of the party seeking seats in the National and the State Assemblies stormed the party’s national headquarters in Abuja with a mock coffin of the deputy national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.
Protesting what they described as the non-issuance of party clearance certificate to them and their exclusion from the party’s primaries, the protesters included those who bought forms for the National and State Assembly tickets, and for party’s ad-hoc ward delegates elections, but were allegedly stopped from participating in the elections.
They lamented that they were made to buy the forms for huge sums but refused clearance to participate in the primaries on the spurious ground that they were not members of the party.
They also decried what they said was the subversion of the party’s Constitution and Electoral Guidelines to the detriment of the people of Rivers State.
One of the protesters who is an aspirant to the state assembly from Abua/Odua council, Ms. Eyalada Akari, said they would lay siege to the party’s national secretariat until their grievances were settled.
“I and my colleagues spent huge sums of money to procure party nomination forms and pay all sorts of fees. Now they have refused to clear us to participate in the primaries without even dignifying us with a reason.
“Over 200 aspirants bought forms to contest in the PDP House of Assembly primaries and only 45 were said to have been cleared. What would happen to the rest of us? We will do whatever it takes and remain here until they allow us to participate in authentic primaries of the party,” Akari declared.
Several delegates who took turns to address journalists at the protest venue, said no primary elections took place in Rivers State.
They urged the national leadership to intervene to halt the impending implosion of the party in Rivers State, and fingered the troika of Secondus, chairman Felix Obuah and former Minister Nyesom Wike. They requested among others that: the State Working Committee of the PDP in Rivers State be dissolved; that all the congresses and primaries held so far be cancelled and that Nyesom Wike be stopped from contesting in the forthcoming governorship primaries.
By Wednesday evening, the protesters had completely taken over the party’s secretariat and apparently out of fear, all gates to the party office remained closed and visitors and journalists were not allowed in.
However, a detachment of over 60 anti-riot policemen were sighted trying to keep the situation under control.
