PDP Can Retain Edo, But Not An Easy Assignment – Fintri, Igbinedion, Ighodalo

Ahead of the September governorship election in Edo State, Adamawa State governor Ahmadu Fintiri, former Edo State governor, Lucky Igbinedion and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the polls, Asue Ighodalo, have said PDP can win the election which they however described as a “not easy assignment.”

Fintri, who chairs the PDP Campaign Council for the Edo election, spoke alongside Igbinedion and Ighodalo, during the inaugural meeting of the National Campaign Council for the Edo State Governorship Election, in Abuja yesterday.

This comes as the PDP leadership said it remains unfazed by the misinterpretation of the court ruling on the status of its primary as well as its candidate, Ighodalo.

National legal adviser of the PDP, Barr. Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN), who said this at the campaign council’s inaugural meeting, said the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement confirms the party’s position that its candidate emerged through a credible process; as such, there was no cause to fear.

Ajibade said, “Everyone was taken aback the day before yesterday when the news broke that our governorship primary was annulled and our candidate was disqualified.

“We had eight cases in Edo; seven of those cases are done with. It is normal that when your party is popular, contention is normal. The court did not nullify our primary.

“The case before the court was the issue of delegates, and there is a court pronouncement that such matters are the internal affairs of the party.

“And only a person who contests in a party primary has the locus standi to challenge it in court. This is not the first time we are handling such an issue.”

Earlier, Fintiri in his welcome address, charged committee members to prepare for the task ahead, adding  “We are well aware that that task before us is not an easy one; it requires a lot of commitment from us all.”

While he noted Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki’s track record as being good enough for PDP to win the election, Fintiri enjoined party leaders from Edo State to join hands with the candidate and the committee to ensure the success of the campaigns and the election proper.

The Adamawa State governor, however, said of the Ighodalo, “The candidate has a lot of credibility with him. He is deliverable. We can make him win if we are serious.”

On his part, former governor, Igbinedion said if hard work alone translates to victory, then the party and the candidate have already won, because the candidate has toiled and been to every nook and cranny in the state.

“We have 192 wards in the state and he has been to all of them. So if it is about reaching out to the people, he has reached out to them.

“So just to borrow a relief from the campaign council chairman, his excellency, That seeing the faces here in this room today, it shows the true commitment of the true PDP family.”

The candidate, Ighodalo, on his part said, “I know it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be very difficult. We’ve already seen the signs that this is going to be a difficult election, not only issues but on distractions.

“But sometimes distractions are more difficult to deal with than issues. But I know that we have leaders here who are more than capable to set the ball rolling and to lift us higher than some others. So I’m truly grateful.

“Mr Chairman, Sir, you’ve already said everything that needs to be said. Every man and woman in this room has the full commitment to do the necessary work to take us through this hurdle,” he said.