Abia Deputy Gov. Oko Chukwu Withdraws From PDP Governorship Primary Election

Deputy governor of Abia State and governorship aspirant, Dr. Ude Oko Chukwu has announced his withdrawal from the party’s guber primary election taking place today in Umuahia, citing non adherence to extant laws.

He said there was no congress of the PDP in Abia which produced the 3-man ad-hoc delegates who have been mobilised to elect a governorship candidate, insisting that this contradicts Electoral Act 2022 as well as constitution of the People’s Democratic Party PDP.

In a statement on Wednesday, the deputy governor reiterated that stakeholders and governorship aspirants in the state had earlier informed the national leadership of the PDP that there was not ad-hoc delegate election in the state, wondering why an action has not been taken.

He cautioned that if a proper congress to produce ad-hoc delegates for the election is not conducted, it will be detrimental to the PDP in the upcoming general election.

He said, “Greetings and best wishes. You may recall that a fortnight ago, I joined other frontine PDP Gubernatorial Aspirants in Abia State to petition against the generation of a list of three (3) ad-hoc delegates list without an election contrary to the PDP constitution and the guidelines.

“We unequivocally stated the obvious that no such exercise was conducted here in Abia. It is equally obvious that the purported list and its generation is a flagrant violation of relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC guidelines and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as Amended.

“Ordinarily, such weighty petition signed by stakeholders and aspirants in the Party should have raised serious concern to the National Leadership of the Party considering the legal consequences associated with the whole process and the entire exercise.

“Seeking to build on a faulty foundation that must surely collapse in the face of legal experiment as orchestrated by you is a calamity waiting to happen. It is on the foregoing thatI state that no sane person least of all, some of us that are committed members of our Party should be part of this violation of our Party Constitution called primary elections for governorship positions which for all Intent and purposes is a sham.

“I cant be a party to what I had earlier discredited knowing that same would amount to a nullity at the fullness of time. I therefore urge the Leadership of our Party to do the needful by holding a valid Congress which will lead to the holding of a lawful Gubernatorial Primary Election to avert the looming danger that is daring us as a Party. The earlier, the better.”