President Goodluck Jonathan was among top Peoples Democratic Party chieftains absent Saturday as the party held its controversial primary in Yenagoa, the Bayesta State capital, to pick a candidate for the state’s governorship election slated for next February.
Others who boycotted the governorship primary that produced the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, as winner, were the deputy governor of the state, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu, three out of the seven governorship aspirants, all National Assembly members representing the state, lawmakers from the state House of Assembly, local government chairmen and councillors.
THISDAY, however, was unable to confirm if officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the primary, as statutorily required by the Electoral Act.
The commissioner of its Monitoring Department, Mrs. Regina Omo-Agege, nonetheless was sighted at Yenagoa yesterday.
The commissioner of its Monitoring Department, Mrs. Regina Omo-Agege, nonetheless was sighted at Yenagoa yesterday.
INEC had on Friday said that it would stay away from the primary in compliance with the order of Justice G. O. Kolawole of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja.
However, THISDAY investigations have revealed that contrary to reports that the court granted an injunction stopping the primary, the court order was misrepresented.
In the court order exclusively obtained by THISDAY, Justice Kolawole specifically ruled that the ex-parte motion would not be refused, but “PDP shall be put on notice of same and they shall within 72 hours of being served with the motion of notice show why the plaintiff (Sylva) shall not be entitled to the preservatory orders as prayed on the ex-parte motion.”
The court further ordered that “in the event that the defendants (INEC, PDP and the party’s acting national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje) when served with the originating summons, the motion on notice and the enrolment of these orders, the second and third defendants in particular, were unable to show such reasonable and or just cause why the orders shall not be made, this court would have no hesitation in either granting the said orders in the way and manner as couched or may grant Prayer 4 as the alternative prayer as couched in the motion ex-parte.”
Baraje also yesterday insisted that there was no court injunction against the conduct of the primary, stating that what the party got was a motion on notice from the court.
As the primary was about to begin, three aspirants—Enai Christopher Fullpower, Orufa Justin Boloubo and Austin Febo— staged a walk out accusing the Governorship Primary Committee, headed by Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd.) of bias.
As the primary was about to begin, three aspirants—Enai Christopher Fullpower, Orufa Justin Boloubo and Austin Febo— staged a walk out accusing the Governorship Primary Committee, headed by Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd.) of bias.
The three aspirants protested the haste with which the Primary Electoral Committee was ready to conduct the primary without the party resolving the contentious issues of the ward congress and the non-presence of INEC officials.
The election was held under the “close supervision” of hundreds of security agents while two Apache helicopter gunboats hovered over the venue.
Shortly after the end of voting by the 411 accredited delegates, out of which only 384 voted, Olubolade announced Dickson as winner with 365 votes.
Francis Ekiyegha Korobido and Febo, who polled two votes each, trailed behind him while Francis Doukpola and Kalango Michael Youppele scored one vote each. Boloubo and Fullpower polled no votes. Thirteen of the votes were voided.
Earlier, the acting chairman of the party in the state, Mr. James Dugo, had told the delegates that they should not allow the events of the last few days to sway them from the determination to do what is right, admonishing them to put the problem behind them in the interest of PDP.
Speaking before the conduct of the governorship primary, Olubolade said though the assignment before the panel was given to them by the party, they would do their best in conducting a free and fair election.
After the announcement of the results, the three aggrieved aspirants and Doukpola complained to the committee about the decision of the panel not to wait for the report of the Ward Congress Appeal Panel on the controversial ward congress election, the non-presence of INEC officials, and the absence of statutory delegates, including the National Assembly members.
According to Doukpola, “This is a flagrant display of fraud. The process leading to this is fraudulent and not fair. This election is a sham and should not have taken place.”
Joining in the protest, Orufa said, “We will not participate in a shameful poll like this,” while Enai told the electoral panel to place it on record that INEC was not present at the election.
Olubolade, however, told the aggrieved aspirants that they could not be the judge and the complainants, adding: “To assume that I will take decision on all your complaints is not humanly possible. As a party member, I request you to be patient.”
In his acceptance speech, Dickson said the work for a new Bayelsa had began with the decision of the delegates to hand him their votes and asked the people to support the new path to development and progress in the state by electing him in the 2012 governorship poll.
Although Jonathan and his wife, Patience, were conspicuously absent, former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and former military administrator of Delta and Ebonyi States, Navy Capt Walter Feghabo, were among the delegates that voted at the primary.
Although Jonathan and his wife, Patience, were conspicuously absent, former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and former military administrator of Delta and Ebonyi States, Navy Capt Walter Feghabo, were among the delegates that voted at the primary.
It was gathered that the president’s absence must have been a last minute decision as his advance team, comprising State House media crew, security and protocol people, had arrived in the state since last Wednesday before the court injunction.
The Peace Park venue for the accreditation of delegates swarmed with uniformed and plain-cloth policemen who frisked delegates before they were accredited.
But at 1.42 pm, there was a sudden flurry as policemen who were in the presidential entourage started moving to the State House buses at the venue, which they boarded and were driven to their hotels. It was at that point that it became clear that Jonathan was no longer coming.
Dr. Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, did not pick his call to respond to inquiries on why the president did not turn up for the primary in his home state.
Sources, however, said the president decided to abstain from the primary to avoid being labelled a lawbreaker in view of the court injunction, adding that the presidential security team was left in Yenogoa to help keep the peace since soldiers previously deployed to the state had been withdrawn.
Meanwhile, the PDP national chairman told reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, yesterday, that there was no drama in Bayelsa and there was no injunction stopping the primary.
“There is no court order, what we have is a motion on notice and we said to the press that what we have is not a court order. It was a motion on notice for the PDP to show why some of the prayers in the notice should not be granted and we have done that since yesterday (Friday). That is why we are going ahead with our primary.”
In spite of his best efforts to defend the decision to hold the primary, its conduct was criticised by a group, Concerned Statutory Delegates, comprising some aggrieved delegates, including the state’s deputy governor, Sebariugu Werinipre, speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Nestor, Binabo, and the deputy speaker, Hon. F. T. Anaaye.
The delegates, in a statement, said they boycotted the primary so as not to be seen as flouting the court order.
“As law abiding party members, and true believers in the rule of law, we shall not participate in a process that is clearly contemptuous of a judicial order capable of bringing the judiciary to disrepute,” they said in the statement signed by all the 99 aggrieved delegates.
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