Anambra: PDP disowns Uba, says Nwoye is candidate

 Rather the party said it recognises former student leader Tony Nwoye as its candidate for the November 16 polls. Two parallel primaries were held in the state on Saturday where Nwoye emerged as the candidate in the primary held by the committee set up by the national secretariat of the party while Uba emerged as […]

 Rather the party said it recognises former student leader Tony Nwoye as its candidate for the November 16 polls.
Two parallel primaries were held in the state on Saturday where Nwoye emerged as the candidate in the primary held by the committee set up by the national secretariat of the party while Uba emerged as the candidate in the primary conducted by the Ejike Oguebego faction recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The PDP in Anambra has been split into two with the national secretariat recognizing the Emeakayi faction while INEC recognizes the Oguebego group.
In a report presented yesterday to the national leadership of the PDP by Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, the PDP primary committee for the state said Nwoye emerged candidate of the party having polled 498 votes to beat other aspirants.
Shema who chaired the committee said a total number of 916 delegates were cleared and had participated in the election adding that having successfully conducted the exercise, Nwoye has been returned as the candidate of the party.
National chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who received the report, said the party has only one candidate and that there is no conflict or confusion whatsoever as the party’s position on who is its candidate was very clear.
The primary that threw up Uba as candidate was monitored by INEC Head of Operations.
 When contacted yesterday, INEC said the party has not formally informed it about the emergence of any candidate.
INEC chairman Attahiru Jega’s spokesman Kayode Idowu told Daily Trust that the commission cannot take position now about the controversy, as it awaits the formal notification by the party on who actually emerged as the candidate.
 Idowu further reiterated the commission’s recent position recognising Ogbuebegu as the substantive PDP chairman in the state.
 “Let me state the facts. Fact number one, two weeks ago INEC released a statement, and the position of the commission has not been retracted. Fact number two; you said two candidates have emerged, I ask, have two candidates emerged? Because may be it is a process, an ongoing process.
 “There has to be a formal notification from the party. It has to be formal from the party that two candidates, how many candidates, or any other person has emerged. It could be an ongoing process, because you may not know what will happen later. Until we are formally informed, you cannot jump to it now,” he said.
 Asked on which of the two primaries the commissioned had observed, the chief press secretary said the commission did not monitor the primaries, as it was not invited on time.
He said, “The law provides for 21 days, before the (primary) election and if you could invite INEC just three days to election, how can we monitor it?”