Fresh Crisis Hits Rivers PDP As Wike's Men Move to Disqualify 12 Guber Aspirants
Hopes of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winning Rivers State in 2015 was further threatened Monday with the attempted disqualification of at least 12 governorship aspirants by the party's screening committee.
Also under threat of disqualification were over 140 out of over 170 aspirants for the state House of Assembly.
Only 32 aspirants believed to be Wike's loyalists were okayed by the screening panel to contest the primaries for the 32 State Assembly Constituency seats, suggesting they might emerge “unopposed.”
According to the Gubernatorial screening panel, all the aspirants were to be barred from contesting the primary elections because they were not registered PDP members in their respective wards, just as their names allegedly weren't on the “list of CTC of members of the party in (their respective) wards.”
The screening committee was headed by Obed Wadzani , Nigeria's former ambassador to Spain and The Vatican. The former envoy has been accused of being compromised by Wike and his patrons to do a “hatchet job.”
Incidentally, all the aspirants marked for disqualification by the Wadzani panel were believed to be opposed to the aspiration of the immediate past Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike.
They include Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Engineer Beks Dagogo-Jack, Major Lancelot Anyanya (rtd), Prince Tonye Princewill and Hon. Nimi Walson Jack.
Also on Wadzani's “hit list” were Chief Larry Allison, Gabriel Pidomson, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Don Baridan, Hon. Oseleye Dennis Ojuka, Mrs. Abietedoghu Bob-Abbey Hart, and Hon. Atamuno Atamuno.
The rest are a former director in the Obasanjo campaign organisation, Dr. Sylva Opusunju, Chief Sampson Ngerebara, Hon. Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja and a former minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Odein Ajumogobia.
Pointblanknews.com investigations reveal that only lackeys of Wike or aspirants who would not offer any serious challenge to his ambition were cleared to contest the primary election “at which they would formally announce their stepping down for the former minister.”
They include a former senator
representing Rivers South-East senatorial district, Senator Lee Maeba, a former commissioner for works, Pawariso Samuel Horsfall, Captain Sunny Nwankwo, Hon. Bernard Mikko and Ibinabo Michael-West.
First Lady Dame Parience Goodluck and the party's deputy national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus had made several concerted but unsuccessful attempts to impose Wike as the flag bearer.
Sources at the Ministry of Education told Pointblanknews.com that “Wike was one of the most financially reckless ministers in Nigerian history and converted billions of Naira meant for the education of children into his governorship campaign fund.”
A foundation member of the party's Board of Trustees (BoT) Chief Ombo Isokrari has since picked holes in the report of the Wadzani panel.
In a letter to the screening panel appeal panel, Ibrahim Bunu, the party trustee urged the committee to upturn the verdict of the Wazani panel which was based on the “non re validation of their party membership.”
Bunu is an architect and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Isokrari's letter was dated November 24, 2014, and entitled “Memorandum In Support of PDP Governorship Aspirants Not Cleared on False Ground of Non-membership of Party”
He penned, “As a foundation member of our party and a member of the Board of Trustees, I wish to state categorically that no such membership re validation exercise took place in the entire Rivers State.
“In fact, a few months ago, BoT member Alabo T. O. Graham-Douglas and I had written to the national chairman of the party to call for registration of new members and the issuance of new membership cards to old members as was being done in other states,” explained the trustee.
He, however observed that, but with the way the matter is now been presented to a governorship screening committee, I am sure that my name and those of other elders of the party in the state would not be in the 'new” party registers being bandied about since I was not aware of any re validation exercise.”
Reminded the trustee, “In any event, to the best of my knowledge, membership of our party cannot be lost on the basis of a re validation exercise as this exercise is not in our party's Constitution.”
He drew Bunu's attention to the reality that “most of these aspirants until last month held high offices under the auspices of our party and by virtue of the wisdom of the national leader of the party, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR.
“The are also the bulwark of our party in the state,” further explained the trustee, stressing, “to deny their membership of the party one month later for reasons of partisan interest exposes our party and Leader to ridicule.
He further urged the Bunu panel to “disregard this fake 'new' party register purportedly derived from a false 'membership re validation exercise and clear all the governorship aspirants who were not cleared for this reason, in the best interest of our party.”
Pointblanknews.com gathered that the party's national leadership is embarrassed by what an official described as “the scandalizing handling of the screening exercise by the Wadzani committee.”
Said the official, 'the committee's report was too ludicrous to say the least. The whole world knows that Wike and his people have consistently refused to create any membership register of the party after Amaechi's people bolted away with the existing one.
“To now turn around to say that the names of aspirants who joined PDP long before Wike dreamt of becoming a council chairman are no longer party members is most laughable,” he said.
He stressed, “Like Bishop Isokrari explained in his letter, many aspirants said not to belong to PDP held powerful appointments which they resigned only about a month ago.
“Lulu-Briggs, who first contested the governorship in 2002 has been chairman of the boards of National Maritime Academy, Oron, and Federal Medical Centre, Owerri respectively. Besides, he is one of the big donors to PDP both at the state and national levels.
“Dagogo-Jack isn't a green horn in politics. He has been Commissioner as well as Presidential Adviser on power.
“Ayanya has held several appointments under the auspices of PDP, including the latest, the chairmanship of NOSDRA. Pidomson has been the Secretary to the Rivers State government under a PDP-elected governor, so what are they talking about?” he quizzed.
However, a top official of the party told Pointblanknews.com that Wike had become so obsessed with becoming the next governor of Rivers State “that he would stop at nothing to get there.”
He disclosed that the former minister used several PDP top shots, including deputy national chairman Uche Secondus and south-south chairman Cairo Ojugboh to “reach out” to the Wadzani committee.”
Said the officer,, “be assured that Wike has changed the lives of the members of the Wazani committee, especially after Pointblanknews.com blew the lid on how he flooded the Ward Congress Committee with his lackeys.
“Not to take chances, Wike moved fast to buy up the Wadzani committee. Fortunately, Bunu is a man of integrity, a man who has proven that a man's life doesn't depend on bread and butter. I can categorically tell you that Bunu has rebuffed all overtures by Wike to uphold the fraudulent decision of the Wazani panel,” he declared.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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