Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has reacted as the Oyo state Governor and the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s committee for ward congresses in Edo State, Seyi Makinde relinquished his chairmanship position in the buildup to the party’s governorship primary election.
Speaking on Sunday, Obaseki said that the resignation was unfortunate.
The six-person committee was tasked with holding congresses in each of Edo State’s 192 wards to choose delegates who would nominate the party’s candidate for governor on September 21.
The committee also includes Dr. Agbu Kefas, the governor of Taraba State, Hon. Marie Ebikan, Hon. Pascal Adigwe, and the governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, who serves as vice chairman.
Naija News notes that the PDP has scheduled its primary for February 22, 2024, in the buildup to the September 21 gubernatorial election.
Makinde’s resignation was conditioned on the presence of purported irregularities in the list of electoral officers nominated.
He further said that the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly was leading the team of Electoral Officers in his own Local Government Area, Owan West.
However, Obaseki, speaking to press following the election of three delegates at the PDP Ward Congress in Ward 4 of Oredo Local Government Area, stated that Makinde’s resignation from the exercise had no bearing on the authenticity of the process.
He said, “It is unfortunate that Makinde withdrew, there are three governors and he is only one of three, so withdrawing does not really remove the credibility of the process and it is not just the process and what makes a process credible is the quality of the participation.
“You can see for yourself. So it is unfortunate that Governor Makinde had to take such decision but I hope that all our efforts to continue to unify the party and pacify all players would continue.
“We are not deterred at all, we are going to make sure that PDP plays its role in the politics of this country.
“You can also see from the crowd that the exercise is a huge as regards the turn out. We have over 600 people coming out to participate here, our people are now very politically conscious.
“We are happy with this turn out to elect delegates for a our gubernatorial primary, and we are also expecting this huge turnout in the main election.”
