A legal practitioner and expert in election matters, Barr. Kalu Agu, has predicted landslide victory for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
He also clarified that the issues said to be surrounding the PDP adhoc delegate congress are domestic matters of the party which are not justiciable under the laws of Nigeria and by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court.
Agu who stated this at the weekend in an interview on AIT programme, Democracy Today, said the people of Edo State are heavily supporting the PDP due to the massive achievements of Governor Godwin Obaseki under the platform of the PDP.
The election expert stated that from all field analysis the people of Edo State are not inclined to look the way of the All Progressive Congress (APC) which he said is responsible for the hardship being experienced by Nigerians across the country.
According to him, “From all analysis the people of Edo State are supporting PDP heavily.
The PDP is doing very well in Edo State under Governor Obaseki especially because of the numerous developmental projects of the governor. All the PDP needs to do now is to come together and consolidate on the support. Once they are united, the PDP will take the APC to the cleaners in the forthcoming election.
“Nobody wants to risk having the APC in Edo State. What is happening in Nigeria today under the leadership of the APC is a clear signal that Nigerians across the country have rejected APC. Today, Nigerians in all parts of the country are crying and dying of hunger; there are killings, kidnapping and banditry across the land. That is why there is agitation against the APC everywhere including in Edo State. Let the PDP come together and present a candidate because the people of Edo State are behind them.
On the issue of the adhoc delegate congress, Barr. Agu advised aggrieved stakeholders in the PDP to sheathe their swords in the general interest of the people of Edo State. He also observed that such issues are domestic affairs of the Party which are not justiciable
“I am not a member of the PDP but as a concerned Nigerian, my advice to the members of PDP in Edo State is for them to come together as one family. In a contest like this, there will always be one winner and once the winner emerges, others should rally round and support him.
“There are plethora of authorities that issues of primary are domestic affairs of a Party more especially the issue of the adhoc delegates. These are none justiciable issues. The Supreme Court has held that the Court has no business on issues of those who emerge as adhoc delegates of a Party. Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022 is very clear in stating that no court in this country is empowered to stop the primary election of any Party or even the general election”.
Allaying fears of a replay of the nullification of PDP State and National Assembly candidates in Plateau State, Agu described the judgment of the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel as an error of judgment which has been overridden by the Supreme Court.
“What the Justices of the Court of Appeal did was more or less a coup against the PDP. The beauty of governorship election is that the matter moves to the Supreme Court and there is already a precedent set by the Supreme Court that issues of the process of nomination of candidates by political parties is pre-election matter and being a pre-election matter, the tribunal has no jurisdiction over it.
“The issue the aggrieved aspirants are contending is the process of the election of the adhoc delegates that will participate in the primary election. It is a common thing that when there is contest, some people will feel aggrieved and when they feel aggrieved, they may want to ventilate their grievance in Court. But our Courts have already held that such issues are domestic issues of the Party.
“Moreover, those that emerged as adhoc delegates are adults with independent minds. All the aspirants need to do is to approach them and market themselves to them. After the election, they should come together and rally around whoever emerges as candidate. This what the people of Edo State want from the PDP” Agu counselled.
