Electoral Act: PDP Ward Excos Threaten to Dump the Party in Delta

By Timi Black

Chieftains of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State under the Ward Executives Forum, (WEF) have threatened to dump the party over what they described as a wrong interpretation of the electoral act to phase them out as legitimate delegates by the party in connivance with both state and national chairmen of the party for political reasons best known to them.

An online report which was obtained by our correspondents stated that the moves to exclude them from being delegates were deliberately orchestrated by some powerful leaders who are desperate to impose unpopular candidates on the party.

According to the protesting ward party leaders, the decision of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to exclude the elected officials of the Party from participating in the ongoing primary elections across the Country did not only offend the provisions of the PDP Constitution 2017 (as amended) but also the Electoral Act, 2022.

The angry party chieftains who said they had lost confidence had threatened to dump the party for power influencers that claimed to be law-abiding members following what they described as unconditional and inimical moves to deprive them of the ongoing electoral process of the party.

The protesting party men argued that their rights cannot be denied, adding that if the party didn’t get back to the structure earlier formed, they would look for a suitable party that is inclusive of members and party executives.

The statement reads: “The Electoral Act 2022 under section 84(8) required elected delegates to vote in party primaries, all the elected officials of the PDP are elected to elect council chairmanship, House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, Governor, President amongst others.

“Article 25(2) (c) of the PDP Constitution empowered the Ward Executives (chairmen, deputy chairmen, secretaries, women and youth leaders), ad hoc delegates amongst others to vote for the Governorship candidate of the Party. Subsections 5, 6 and 7 of Article 25 of the PDP Constitution also empowered the Ward Executives mentioned above to vote for the house of assembly and national assembly candidates respectively.

“The Ward Executives of the Party were elected by the PDP Ward Congress by Article 15 of the Party Constitution. The same section also produced the ad hoc delegates through Ward Congress. If PDP wants to use elected delegates to vote at the Party’s primaries as provided by the Electoral Act, it ought to be the elected Party executives and the ad hoc delegates.

“We discovered that some powerful persons in the Party, especially some of the outgoing governors who in their desperate bid to impose unpopular candidates on the people have spent billions of naira to buy the conscience of the National Executives Committee (NWC) members thereby compelling them to make a decision that will bury the party in Nigeria.

“The PDP just recently used the elected Party executives and the ad hoc delegates to conduct its primaries at Ekiti and Osun States gubernatorial elections under this new Electoral Act. Why then the NWC is given a new interpretation of the Act without judicial interpretation?

“In a critical analysis of the ongoing quagmire within the PDP, especially the desperation of some powerful persons to hijack the structures of the Party, by all means, we the grassroots structures of the PDP in Delta State view that the party has no hope for the common man. PDP is no longer power to the people but the power to the well to do.

“Since the NWC has chosen to dance to the tune of these powerful individuals without considering the future of the Party, we believe that PDP has lost all sense of decency and sympathy from Nigerians. Consequently, we the Ward Executives of the Party in Delta State have resolved to dump the Party for these power mongers. We will rather join a Party that considers grassroots participation which we believe some opposition parties including the APC are standing a better chance”, they added.