PDP Did Not Use Statutory Delegates For Taraba Guber Primary, Says Ex-Official

HAD the Taraba State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) made use of the list of statutory delegates for the party’s governorship primary election in the state, the tears being shed by party members following recent verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal would have been avoided.

This was the submission of the party’s former Public Relations Officer (PDP) in the State, Napoleon Adamu, while reacting to his expulsion from the party for throwing his weight behind the tribunal’s ruling, which sacked Governor Darius Dickson from office.

The state secretary of the party, Alhaji Bamanga S. Ngoroje, while briefing newsmen in Jalingo, the state capital, had expressed dismay at the comments accredited to the PRO in some national dailies, advising the party to accept the tribunal’s verdict and desist from going on an appeal as it did not actually conduct primaries in the state before the general elections which brought Governor Ishaku on board.

Adamu has been expelled from the party as a result of his comments.

But not disturbed by the party’s action, the PRO, yesterday told The Guardian in an exclusive interview that he would continue to stand by the truth insisting that, “I have been groomed to always tell the truth and the truth is that PDP did not conduct any primaries in the state at all.”

Citing the electoral law 2010, which stated that “political parties are expected to conduct primaries and they are to do it where they are residing”, he said the PDP “did not use the list of the statutory delegates that even the court recognised.”

“They went to Abuja, fixed a date at their convenience and used the list of delegates which they drew on their own without making reference to the authentic delegate list,” he said.

He noted that while doing that, the party “did not invite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to witness the primary as stipulated by law.

“If they invite INEC, SSS and Police, we cannot say that they did not conduct primaries, but PDP failed to do what is expected of them,” he said.

Vowing to make more stunning revelations on how the party “hand-picked” those elected in the last poll, Adamu said: “I am not afraid of anything. It is God that takes care of our lives. If you are telling the truth, don’t ever be afraid of anything because it is only the truth that can set you free.”