Edo 2024: How Aziegbemi Plans To Illegally Screen Aspirants To Favour Asue In Edo Central Senatorial District, By Philip Odion

THERE are clandestine plans already hatched by Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, the Edo State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to use his offices to screen out aspirants ahead of the upcoming DPD primary slated for February 2024. This action is not only undemocratic, it is diabolical and illegal.

This planned illegality, which will soon be made public, is a unilateral decision by the state chairman without any input from members of the State Executive Committee of the Party, nor were critical stakeholders of the party in Edo Central Senatorial District informed of the plans.

The covert plan is meant to screen out more viable aspirants from the district in favour of Governor Obaseki’s anointed godson; Asue Ighodalo esq.

An insider, who begged his name should not be mentioned alleged the state chairman has collected huge funds from Asue through the governor to carry out this plan with the support of the Senatorial Chairman, Bishop Okosun, and few others who do not care if PDP in the state goes into implosion. It was also discovered that while aspirants will be out rightly screened out in the district because of the over-reaching influence of these two men, they intend to ‘appeal’ to other aspirants to step down in both the North and South Senatorial Districts. Why this double standard?

The question before everyone’s lip is why are they afraid to allow Asue face other aspirants in the primary? Why are all aspirants not allowed to attend the meeting where this decision was taken? If the plan is not clandestine and illegal, why are they going about it in secret without wide consultation with leaders and stakeholders of the Party even from other senatorial districts such as Chief Dan Osi Orbih who has a large following in the party in the three senatorial districts?

Dr Aziegbemi should know that whatever illegal communique he wishes to publish in this regards anytime will not carry the force of law – it will be resisted vehemently. The PDP constitution, as well as the Electoral Act, 2022, guarantees internal democracy in political parties without any exemption. Any attempt therefore to surreptitiously screen out aspirants without their consents will be met with the fury of legal actions, and this could lead to before-election implosion of the Party in Edo State.

A stitch in time saves nine.