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Leaders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi West senatorial district has foreclosed granting any aspirant automatic ticket for the 2019 general elections.
At a meeting of PDP leaders in the district, held at the Iyah-Gbede residence of Major- General David Jemibewon (rtd), on Friday, stakeholders, however, affirmed their disposition to providing a level playing field to all aspirants, irrespective of their age or status in the party.
The party leaders also agreed to jettison any form of zoning arrangement, throwing the senate race open to interested contestants from all local governments in the district.
In a statement issued after the meeting by the Kogi West zonal leader, Barr. Taiwo Kola-Ojo, the leaders said the decision was taken to check impunity and disaffection among members of the party.
Politicians seeking elective offices in 2019 were excluded from the meeting of major stakeholders and party executives of the Kogi West chapter of the party.
Kola-Ojo explained that after an exhaustive deliberation on the mode of selecting the Senatorial flagbearer of the party, and against insinuations and the misconception that the meeting at hand had been organised to ratify the allotment of the party’s senatorial ticket to an aspirant, members agreed that giving the ticket as either a reward, incentive or concession to reciprocate political alliances or honour any memorandum of understanding will neither be justifiable nor be acceptable.
“Having deliberated on the mode of selecting the flagbearer of the party in the 2019 senatorial election, the district concluded that a twin method of consensus and competition will be adopted, with consensus being the first effort while competition through primary election, in line with the guidelines stipulated by the national leadership of the party will be the ultimate option.
“To reinforce the stand of the district, its resolution would be communicated to the state and National Executive Committees of the Party.
“After examining the understanding reached with members of the Reformed All People’s Congress (R-APC), the meeting observed the application of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding would vary according to the value accruable from the local partners in the agreement. In definite terms, fears of the dissolution of existing executive committees at any level were allayed,” he said.
The meeting reviewed the bye-election held in Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency, and condemned the violence, insecurity and monetary inducement that featured during the election at the behest of the All Progressives Congress party government and members in the state, noting with disappointment the complicity and indiscretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in announcing the APC candidate as the winner of the bye election, in spite of the result that showed that the number of registered voters in areas where elections were cancelled, which stood at over 19,000, was far higher than the difference in votes cast for the presumed winner and the candidate of the PDP, which stood at about 12,000.
The PDP leaders resolved to challenge the illegality in an appropriate court.
“The injustice meted by INEC notwithstanding, the meeting encouraged members to be resolute in pressing for free and fair elections in the general and Governorship elections coming up in 2019.”
The meeting was attended by past and current members of the party at national, state, senatorial and local government levels, among whom were member Board of Trustees of the PDP, General David Jemibewon; former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Chief Samuel Akande; former state chairman of PDP, Hon Hassan Salau; former commissioner of finance, Kogi State, Dr Stephen Olorunfemi, and Chief Shola Adedoyin, a party leader from Ijumu Local Government Area.
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