Odii Is Only Ebonyi PDP Guber Candidate Recognized By INEC – Group Insists

Ifeanyi Odii remains the only governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Ebonyi State for the 2023 governorship election in the state, the Anyichuks Grassroots Organisation, AGO, has said.

The group reiterated that Odii’s candidacy has been approved and recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the party’s flagbearer.

This was disclosed on Friday by the Director of Media and Publicity of AGO, Abia Onyike, during a meeting with journalists, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

Ebonyi State chapter of the PDP has been enmeshed in crisis over who is the chairmanship and the governorship candidates of the party.

The crisis has led to litigations, with several court decisions already secured by Odii in his favour.

But a statement few days ago by the factional chairman of PDP in Ebonyi State, Tochukwu Okorie, pointed out that the party does not have governorship candidate in the state.

Okorie, who was also removed as chairman by the Federal High Court said Odii’s name is not with INEC, until as determined by the court.

AGO, however, carpeted Okorie saying, “His (Okorie’s) statements are not consistent and logical. But first and foremost, I want us to observe the fact that as of today, Odii’s name is on the INEC portal as the governorship candidate of PDP in Ebonyi State.

“Odii has been involved in many activities involving the party. He was one of the governorship candidates that visited the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, some few days back. He was also part of the governorship candidates that visited Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, recently. So, I do not know where the PDP State Chairman is coming with this opinion. That could be the figment of his own imagination.

“And also, he has made a statement that it’s only court pronouncements that could warrant someone’s name to be moved to INEC portal as a candidate. So, we can now go back to 7th of June, when the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, gave an order, that Odii is the only legally governorship candidate of the party in Ebonyi State,” the group said.

The group explained that “’some few days after that, the PDP moved Odii’s name to INEC and forms were filled. All those who participated in the primary election of the 28th and 29th of May, 2022, were accommodated. I mean those that won, as candidates. And all of them were pushed to the INEC portal and that’s where we have been right from that time. This is because that was the only legally recognised primary election having been monitored by INEC itself.

“So, I don’t know where Okorie came about this latest information he’s bandying about.

“Remember also that recently the Court of Appeal in Abuja, gave a ruling and in that very ruling, there was no order that Odii’s name should be replaced with any other name. Rather the Judges at the Court of Appeal held that everything that had to do with the legality of any of the two primaries or whoever is to be adjudged as the candidate of the party is an internal affair of the party.”

AGO argued that as far as it is concerned, the party had already decided its governorship candidate when it moved Odii’s name and those of others to INEC, pointing out that all the names of the candidates are on the INEC portal.

The group further pointed out that, “The party never cancelled any primaries legally. Some individuals who are fifth columnists within the party, claimed that they had cancelled the first primaries of May 28th and 29th, 2022. It’s quite illogical to assume that primaries that were conducted and witnessed by INEC would be cancelled.
“And nobody will ever imagine that the second primaries (held on June 4th and 5th, 2022), which were not monitored by INEC, will ever be upheld by the party or any other institution, for that matter.

“So, we are aware that the party had already done its own work and decided that Odii’s name should be moved to INEC and they have done it. So, the mere fact that the Court of Appeal’s observations that those issues were the internal affairs of the party, does not mean that the party will begin afresh to address the issues. The party had already taken steps over the issues and everybody is aware of that.

“The Court of Appeal ruling is acceptable by us, because it made it clear that everything that has to do with candidacy is an internal affair of the party.

“Secondly, it made it clear that even the issue of the so-called primaries that were held, are for the party to decide which is legal or illegal. As far as we are concerned and based on the judgement of the Federal High Court of the 7th of June, the PDP has decided that the first primaries that were monitored by INEC on the 28th and 29th of May, 2022, were sacrosanct and that was why Odii’s name was moved to INEC.”