By Joseph Ebi Kanjo
The protracted crisis rocking the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may not come to an end soon as a faction of the party had approached a High Court sitting in Benin, praying the court to stop the State local government election scheduled for September, 2023.
The PDP faction loyal to the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, and led by the state Chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemhim on Saturday, May 27th, 2023, purportedly held primaries of aspirants for the elective offices while the State Electoral Commission consequently scheduled the l election for September, 2023.
But the party faction led by Chief Hilary Otsu, Secretary, Edo State chapter of the PDP, through its Counsel, Omorodion Ehigiator, Esq., in a restraining order marked: B/506/2023 and dated June the 9th, 2023, prayed the State High court to declare the Aziegbemi faction primaries as unconstitutional, illegal, invalid and void.
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The claimants in the suit seeking a stop to the local government election are: Hilary Otsu, Secretary, Edo State chapter of the PDP; Johnson Tunde, PDP Ward 3 Chairman, Akoko-Edo local government council; Kure Benedict, PDP Ward 3 Secretary, Akoko-Edo local government council; Ebade Christopher, PDP Ward 4 Chairman, Etsako Central local government council; Alabi Moses, PDP Ward 4 Secretary, Etsako Central local government council, and 13 other ward chairmen and secretaries across different local government councils of the state.
Defendants in the suit are: Dr. Tony Aziegbemhim, Chairman, Edo State chapter of the PDP (1st Defendant); the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (2nd Defendant) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) (3rd Defendant)
Among prayers by the Claimants is:
“A declaration that the primaries of the 2nd Defendant, Peoples Democratic Party purportedly held in Edo State on Saturday 27th May, 2023 without the sanction approval of the National Executive Committee of the 2nd Defendant to nominate the candidates for Local Government Election in Edo State is unconstitutional, illegal,invalid, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
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The Claimants also seek: “A declaration that any list of 2nd Defendant’s candidates for Local Government Election in Edo State emerging from the aforesaid purported primaries of 2nd Defendant purportedly held on 27th May, 2023, is unconstitutional, invalid, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
And that: “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd Defendant from acting on or recognizing any purported list of the candidates for Local Government Election, 2023 in Edo State.”