Court will decide who won Edo PDP primary – Philip Shaibu

Court will decide who won Edo PDP primary – Philip Shaibu

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has hinted that he will be heading for court to challenge the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party to recognise Dr Asue Ighodalo as the governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming election.
Shaibu stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday insisting that he won the primaries and should be given a certificate of return. Shaibu emerged as winner of a parallel primary conducted last week.
His demand came barely 24 hours after the party’s Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum and the party leadership issued a certificate of return to Ighodalo, who won the primaries recognized by the party.
The deputy governor who was at the secretariat with some of his aides, did not meet any member of the National Working Committee, NWC.
He, however, insisted that the party must abide by its own rules or be prepared to face legal action.
Speaking to reporters shortly after leaving the office of the PDP acting national chairman, Shaibu said, “Today is 28th of February, 2024. By the PDP guidelines approved by the NWC on the Edo 2024 governorship primary, today is the day set aside by the electoral guidelines that the certificate of returns will be issued.

“I am here to receive my certificate of return because I won the primary in Edo where the authentic delegates voted. If you look at the board of the party office here, you will see the names of all the delegates that voted for me.”

“I think the court will tell us who between us is the real candidate, but I am here in fulfillment of the electoral guidelines of the PDP to receive my certificate… I told them that I was coming, but none of them had come to work, only the staff of the secretariat are here.

“I don’t know why they are not here. That is strange and that is in line with why they were in a hurry to give the certificate of return yesterday (Tuesday),” he also said.

The deputy governor declared, “Today is the presentation of Certificate of Return according to the party. So, PDP must follow its rules and guidelines. This is what we are talking about.
“The process of producing a candidate has been compromised from the onset and we ask that those things be corrected. Even the committee that recommended the political solution is fully aware that there were abnormalities in the process that led to my emergence and whoever.
“But why I am here is to obey the guidelines to come and receive the certificate of return and I was told that somebody else came here yesterday and was given the certificate.”