…vows to blockade the party offices until their demands are met.
Aspirants from Rivers State seeking seats in the National and the State Assemblies on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party Wednesday stormed the party’s national headquarters in Abuja with a mock coffin of deputy national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.
The aspirants and delegates expressed dissatisfaction with what they said was the non-issuance of party clearance certificate and their exclusion from party primaries.
The protesters included those who bought forms for the national and state assembly tickets, and for party’s ad-hoc ward delegates elections, but were allegedly stopped from participating in the elections;
The protester said they were made to buy the forms for huge sums but refused clearance to participate in the primaries on the spurious ground that they were not members of the party
The protesters decried what they said was the subversion of the party’s Constitution and Electoral Guidelines to the detriment of the people of Rivers State.
One aspirant to the state assembly from Abua/Odua council, Ms. Eyalada Akari said they would blockade the party’s national secretariat until their grievances were settled.
‘I and my colleagues spent huge sums of money to procure party nomination forms and pay all sorts of fees. Now they have refused to clear us to participate in the primaries without even dignifying us with a reason.
“Over 200 aspirants bought forms to contest in the PDP House of Assembly primaries and only 45 were said to have been cleared. What would happen to the rest of us? We will do whatever it takes and remain here until they allow us to participate in authentic primaries of the party’, declared Ms. Akari.
Several delegates who took turns to address journalists at the protest venue, said no primary elections took place in Rivers State.
They urged the national leadership to intervene to halt the impending implosion of the party in Rivers State, and fingered the troika of Secondus, chairman Felix Obuah and former minister Nyesom Wike.
By late Wednesday afternoon, the protesters had completely taken over the party secretariat. Apparently out of fear, all gates to the party office remained closed and visitors and journalists were not allowed in.
A detachment of over 60 anti-riot policemen were sighted trying to keep the situation under control.