Edo PDP stakeholders push for dissolution of executive c’ttee

By Titus Akhigbe, Benin

Stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state are threatening to institute a court action if the national leadership of the party fails to dissolve the state executive and conduct fresh congresses.

They charged the national leadership of the party to carry out the dissolution before the conduct of the 2020 gubernatorial election in the state to maintain party cohesion, peace, unity and concord.

Former Vice Chairman of Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, Jeffrey Edorodion spoke in Benin City on behalf of the PDP stakeholders in the state.

He said that “we call on the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, the board of trustees and the South-South governors, particularly the Rivers state Governor, Nysom Wike and his Delta state counterpart, Ifeanyi Okowa to look into this matter because it will take a different dimension if not urgently addressed.”

Edorodion said the national leadership of the party should dissolve the Dan Orbih-led state executive and conduct new state congresses as he has served the mandatory eight years of two tenures provided for in the party’s constitution.

He said the current executive of the party in the state was planning to elongate its tenure, arguing that such a move will see the party forever remain in the opposition.

“There is nothing like tenure elongation in our party. The constitution allows a maximum of eight years tenure and minimum of four years. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried tenure elongation, but he failed. If he failed, why will a state chairman of the party try it and succeed?

“The present chairman has been in the office since 2009 after the death of the former chairman. He was brought to complete that tenure and thereafter, has been elected consecutively for two terms in line with our constitution, “he added.

The former local council boss decried the alleged plan to forcefully extend the tenure of the current state executive, warning that allowing the present executive to midwife the conduct of next year’s governorship primary without congresses will spell doom for the party in Edo state.

However, he gave the PDP state executive a pat on the back for doing their best, noting that their leadership was not good enough to reclaim the state for the party.