Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The South-South Screening Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the Chairman and Governor of Bayelsa, Senator Douye Diri had concluded the screening of 56 governorship aspirants from four States in the zone.
The exercise which started on Thursday with expectation to screen 57 ended yesterday with the screening of 56 Guber aspirants from across Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
Speaking at the end of the screening exercise, held at the zonal office of the party in Port Harcourt, Chairman of the committee and Governor Diri described the exercise as tasking but transparent.
He noted that 57 aspirants were billed to be screened but only 56 showed up, adding that the exercise was more or less a family affair.
Diri expressed confidence that the party would present its best candidate in the general election, added that all aspirants have what it takes to fly the party flag.
He said: “The exercise was quite transparent and it is a family affair and men of integrity are in this committee.
The panel has done its job with all the details observed. And now we have successfully completed our assignment.
“From what you have witnessed, the expectations are that we are putting forth our best and virtually all of those who appear before us have what it takes to fly the party flag in the four states in the region. As you are aware, Bayelsa and Edo are off season. So in the South-south, we have four States rather than six.”
Diri continued: “Our take is that this is a family affair. Our party is our family. And hitherto people keep jumping from one party to the other.
“It will interest you to know that we screen some of them who jumped away and they are back and they are now our touch bearers preaching that PDP is the best party and they have returned to their home.
“In all, they were 57 aspirants but one did not turn up and so we screened 56 aspirants.”
Diri gave a breakdown of aspirants from the four states: “Rivers state has 17 aspirants; Delta had 15 aspirants; Cross Rivers 11 and Akwa Ibom has 14 aspirants.”
He however urged aspirants that may not clinch the party ticket after primaries to remain in the party.
“For me, whether at the end of the day whoever wins the party primaries or not we all must remain to support our party and ensure that we not only support our party but support our country for a change in the leadership of this country,” he said.
Delta Speaker, Oborevwori’s Guber Ambition Threatened
Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
The 2023 gubernatorial ambition of the Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has come under serious threat as petitions challenging his elegibility to contest the forthcoming primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on account of alleged observed inconsisties in educational certificates affidavits submitted at different times to the electoral authorities.
THISDAY gathered that petitions from some members of the PDP in the state as well as from members of the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) began flying barely 24 hours after the different governorship aspirants from states of the South-South zone of Nigeria were screened by the PDP panel sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
Specifically, the petitioners pointed at alleged discrepancies in name of the aspirant as it appeared in his first school leaving certificate, his post-primary certificate as well as his Bachelor and Master certificates vis-á-vis the supportive affidavits from the court.
Inconsistencies were also allegedly observed in affidavits sworn to in his age declaration.
Oborevwori, who emerged as the Speaker following the impeachment of his kinsman, Hon Friday Igbuya, is widely believed to be the ‘anointed candidate’ of the incumbent, Dr Ifeani Okowa, despite the governor’s repeated claim that God was yet to tell him who his successor in May 2023 would be.
A Warri-based online publication, ‘Niger Delta Today’, yesterday evening, made copious reference to the different petitions from legal counsel to the PDP members, which they reportedly sent to the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, and that of some APC members in the state.
“According to the details, Oborevwori’s educational certificates parade five different names like those of the former Bayelsa Deputy Governor-elect, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, who was disqualified on the eve of his swearing in with then governor-elect of Bayelsa, David Lyon, for forging his credentials,” the online medium wrote.
Attempts by THISDAY to get reaction from the camp of Oborevwori yielded no results as our correspondent was simply told that there was “no reaction” to calls by concerned PDP members for the House Speaker’s disqualification from the party gubernatorial primary election.
Although, the PDP national chairman yesterday inaugurated several road and related infrastructural projects of the Okowa administration in Asaba as well as graced the multi-million naira empowerment programme by the member representing the Aniocha and Oshimili and Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Godwin Elumelu, it was gathered that Senator Ayu was in Delta partly to meet with governorship aspirants in a bid to douse growing tension among the aspirants and their supporters over the alleged secret endorsement of Oborevwori by the incumbent.
Incidentally, only the uniforms of branded t-shirt and caps of Oborevwori were adorned by numerous his supporters were visible at the Cenotaph, Asaba where Ayu declared open the presentation of tricycles, motorcycles, generators and cash to hundreds of beneficiaries from Hon Elumelu’s constituency yesterday, fuelling claims that Governor Okowa was determined to impose Oborevwori as the party’s candidate at the primary election.
