Edo guber: Abuja High court ruling, a mere temporary set back for PDP, says Fintiri

By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja

Governor of Adamawa State, Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has described the Abuja High Court ruling that nullified the primary that produced Dr Asue Ighodalo as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the September this year’s Edo State governorship election, as a temporary set back.

Fintiri, who is Chairman of PDP National Campaign Council for the Edo governorship election, expressed the strong belief that the ruling will not stand at the Court of Appeal.

This came on the heel of the declaration by the PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamarudeen Ajibade (SAN), that the High court judgement did not nullify the party’s primary.

“The issue before the court was basically the issue of a delegate election,” Ajibade stated.

Fintiri, Ajibade and others spoke at the party’s National headquarters in Abuja on Saturday at the inaugural meeting of the PDP National Campaign Council.

The Adamawa State governor told the members that their assignment demands a lot of commitment and seriousness.

His words, “The candidate has a lot of credibility with him. He is deliverable. We can make him win if we are serious.

“The governor (of Edo State) has worked; he is visibly on ground in Edo. His track record and pedigree also is enough for us to harvest and use positively to win the election for Edo PDP in this election,” he said.

According to him, “the only thing in politics is to win elections, there is no second position in any election. You either win or you lose. In this outing, we are out to win.”

The PDP National Legal Adviser, said the party faced a lot of legal challenges in Edo State, adding that out of eight cases filed against the party, seven have been dispensed with.

Ajibade recalled that Court of Appeal had pronounced that issue of delegates is entirely an internal affair of the political party, pointing out that it is only aspirant in the primary who can challenge nomination of the candidate.

He pointed out that that was why the National Assembly introduced the provision of that section 84 (14) in the Electoral Act, and urged members of the campaign council not to be discouraged.

The PDP governorship candidate for the Edo gubernatorial election, Dr Asue Ighodalo, said there were signs that the election is going to be a difficult one.

He stated that sometimes, distractions are more difficult to deal with than issues, but expressed the hope that party leaders are capable putting the issues in proper perspective.

Ighodalo, a Lawyer by training, promised to give the election his full commitment and ensure that PDP wins the governorship.