PDP primaries begin, Sunday, as South East exercise moved to Tuesday

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said primary elections to nominate its candidates for positions on the 2023 General Elections will commence as scheduled on Sunday, May 22.

This is also as the party announced an adjustment for the primaries for the South East region, as it moved the exercise to Tuesday, May 24.

The party, in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Mr Umar Bature, late Saturday, in Abuja informed all aspirants contesting the various elective positions in the 2023 general elections, delegates and party members that the primaries would go on as scheduled.

The party said that for the avoidance of doubt, the state House of Assembly primaries to elect candidates would hold on Sunday, May 22.

It added that the House of Representatives Primaries to elect candidates would also hold on Sunday, May 22, while the Senatorial Primary to elect candidates would hold on Monday, May 23.

“The National Working Committee has approved that in the event of unforeseen situations, the Senatorial Primary may extend to Tuesday, May 24.

The NWC further clarified those qualified and eligible to vote as delegates in the forthcoming Primaries and National Convention of the party.

The party said that by the virtue of Section 84(8) of the Electoral Act, 2022, ‘they are three ad hoc delegates per ward, elected at the ward congresses and one national delegate per local government, elected at the local government area congresses.’

Meanwhile, party chieftains in Anambra State will slug it out as the primary poll to elect the party’s candidates for the senatorial seats at the National Assembly is to hold on Tuesday, May 24.

The process was originally scheduled for Monday, May 23, 2022, but the PDP moved it for the entire South East to Tuesday due to the forced movement restrictions imposed by separatist groups in the region.

Already, 7 aspirants have been cleared for the Senatorial Primaries for the three zones in Anambra, while fifty-two aspirants have been cleared to contest in the House of Representatives primaries to fill eleven seats.

Leading the race in the senatorial races are Valentine Ozigbo, a celebrated global CEO and the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the November 2021 election who hails from Anambra South; Stella Oduah, the senator representing Anambra North who faces a tough battle with former PDP Governorship Candidate and former State Chairmen, Tony Nwoye; and Uche Ekwunife, the senator representing Anambra Central.

In the Anamnra South senatorial zone contest, while Ozigbo will square off against Chris Uba, a former PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) member, and relatively unknown, Mrs Peace Ezeabikwa.

In Anambra North, All Progressives Congress (APC) returnee Princess Stella Oduah and Tony Nwoye will be locking horns for the party’s senatorial ticket.

Oduah, a sitting senator and Nwoye, a former federal lawmaker and former gubernatorial candidate of both the PDP and APC, are heavyweights with the muscle to win the primary. Chief John Emeka, a former minister, was also cleared to contest in Anambra North.

In Anambra Central, the sitting senator, Uche Ekwunife, is running unopposed.

In Imo, the PDP suspended its primaries for the House of Assembly and House of Representatives indefinitely, over unresolved delegates list.

A statement by the Legal Advisor of the party in the state, Mr Kessinger Ikeokwu, on Sunday, attributed the non-conduct of the primaries to confusion caused by the National Assembly.

Ikeoku explained that Imo would not vote along with other states who were now voting with their three-man and one-man national delegates.

He said: “Please note that the reason for the suspension of the PDP House of Assembly and House of Representatives primaries in Imo was a result of the confusion that arose from the error of the National Assembly in the country.

“This is hinged on Section 84(8) of the Electoral Act, which inadvertently led to the exclusion of over 80 per cent of delegates ordinarily meant to vote at the primaries.

“The Imo PDP’s case became compounded because it hadn’t tidied up its three-man ad hoc delegates, who ought to vote at the primaries, due to pending litigation.

“Every preparation was made for us to use our statutory delegates to vote, before the National Assembly saw the error in Section 84 of the Amended Electoral Act, 2022, which excluded the statutory delegates.

“What it means is that it created a situation of chaos for Imo because we have not concluded our elected delegates,” he explained.

He urged party faithful to ignore fifth columnists writing about crisis within the party.

According to him, there was no crisis, as the leadership of the party at all levels were working together “to make sure our ad hoc delegates are cleared to vote at our primaries on a later date to be announced.”

He assured them that as soon as the President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amended Electoral Act, 2022, the state’s delegate list would be properly constituted to vote at the primaries.

On the whole, without President Buhari’s assent to the amended Electoral Act, only 811 PDP delegates, including the president, serving and former governors, and serving and former members of the National Assembly, will be able to elect the party’s Presidential Candidate.

The 811 participants drawn from 774 national delegates (1 per LGA) and 37 special delegates would make up the 811 delegation (People with disability from each of the 36 states and FCT).

For the South East geo-political zone, the development also shortchanges them in terms of the number of delegates they can produce.

The North West zone, for instance, has 186 National Delegates more than double the 95 coming from the South East, a region that has three major presidential aspirants, Peter Obi, Anyim Pius Anyim and Sam Ohabunwa.

The North East has 112 national delegates.

While the stalemate on the Electoral Act is like a catastrophe for the South East as it removes the region’s advantages in statutory delegates, it also at the same time highlights the region’s diminished LGAs of 95.

This portends strong consequences for the South East as the limited number of the national delegates available from the zone is now being split among themselves and others poaching from outside.