The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State may be heading for yet another internal wrangling which may seriously affect its chances in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state, as the party’s national electoral panel team that was supposed to conduct and monitor the delegates’ election slated for yesterday was visibly absent.
When leadership visited the party state secretariat in Yola, the office was empty, and in most of the wards visited, there were no trace of voters and contestants, while, in others, only few people were seen chatting in groups, as only state executive officers of the party were stationed at those wards.
The electorial officer for Yola-South local government, who is the state organizing secretary of the party, Mr. Myambochong S. Jinde, told journalists that in? the absence of the electoral panel, the state executive got the approval of the national secretariat to conduct the congress and forward the result to Abuja.
He said: “We contacted the national secretariat and we were directed to go ahead with the conduct of the delegates’ congress and that the electoral panel will come later.”
Jinde claimed that the exercise started as early as 8am with a large turnout of voters, and that what remained for them was to file the result of the election.
Reacting to this development, the only PDP aspirant challenging Governor Murtala Nyako for the gubernatorial ticket of the party, Dr. Umar Ardo, who was reported to have boycotted the election, described it as a charade and vowed to challenge it in court.
According to him, based on the party’s guidelines, it was only the national electorial panel that could conduct congress and not the state office. Ardo stated that he was going to file a petition to the national secretariat of the party? over the matter.
The former special adviser on states and local government affairs to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said that?? he was prepared to drag the party to court if the national secretariat failed to address the matter, and asserted that he could only participate in the governorship primaries if the state officials of the party were not delegates and if the election was conducted by the party’s national headquarters.
Ardo had since instituted a legal action asking for the dissolution of the current leadership of the party in the state.
?praying for their desolation on the ground that their continue staying in office is illegitimates and contrary? to the provisions of the electoral acts and the final judgment supposed to have been delivered on the 11th of this month but was put into hold due to the recent judges conference held recently in sokoto while on their part the state chapter of the party have since endorsed governor Nyako as the party flag bearer for 2012 gubernatorial election in the state.?????????????????????????????