By Jethro Ibileke
Palpable tension has again engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Edo State, over alleged substitution of Edo north senatorial candidate of the party for next year’s election.
Recall that Pascal Ugbome of the Governor Godwin Obaseki camp of the party was elected as senatorial candidate during the party’s primaries held on Sunday, 22 May, 2022.
It was however gathered that a purported supplementary election was held on Saturday, 4 June, allegedly on the order of the national leadership of the party, and was won by Senator Francis Alimikhena.
Alimikhena who is the incumbent Senator representing the district, dumped his All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday, 27 May, 2022, over rancor with a former national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole on who gets the sole ticket.
Oshiomhole eventually contested for and won the APC ticket for senate.
Pascal Ugbome, in a statement he personally signed Saturday afternoon, raised the alarm over plans to deny him of the senatorial mandate given to him by the delegates of the party on 22 May.
His statement reads:
“My attention has been drawn to a concocted, wicked and malicious rumour making the rounds, that a purported Supplementary Senatorial Primary has been ordered, supposedly by one National Official of our Party, PDP, to hold today for the Edo North Senatorial District.
“To the best of my knowledge and leaders of our great party, this is a strange development and certainly not a decision of our Party even as its illegality smells to high heaven.
“Secondly, it has also been alleged in another breath that a certain Senator Alimikhena has paid me for the Ticket and that I have stepped down for him. That is A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL. I am a Lawyer and not a TRADER and I cannot trade away the Mandate which the honourable Edo North PDP Delegates gave to me on the 23rd of May, 2022.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the same Delegates who voted for me also voted Our Presidential Candidate at the national convention.
“Consequently, let me reassure our teaming Supporters that I remain the duly Nominated Edo North PDP Candidate and flag bearer of the PDP for the seat of Senator representing Edo North in the forthcoming general Election slated for 2023. I look forward to vigorously Campaign and deliver Victory to our Party at the 2023 Senatorial Election.”
PDP State Secretary, Hillary Otsu, has however to rubbished the purported primary election that produced Senator Alimikhena, describing it as a charade.
Otsu who himself is from the senatorial district, while speaking to our Correspondent on a phone interview, insisted that Pascal Ugbome is the party’s candidate for Edo north senatorial district.
He said: “The candidate that emerged from the primary which was organised by the Edo State PDP for Edo north senatorial district is Barrister Pascal Ugbome. Any other candidate parading himself is a product of a charade put together by whoever.
“I understand that some people are in the act of conducting by-congresses or parallel primaries. Even today, I was told that something was organised. I’m from that senatorial district and I saw the video that purportedly came out of the venue.
“My comment is that it reminds on of what one could describe as the embarrassing stage of insanity by some people, because, I’ve never seen a senatorial primary [election] where you have just one returning officer standing and announcing result and you have about two or three people around him and the purported candiemerging from a corner and you don’t see any people who have voted or who are voting.
“The Peoples Democratic Party, Edo State chapter, has concluded its primaries way before we went for the national convention and the candidate for Edo north senatorial district is Barrister Pascal Ugbome.”