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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council, Governor Umaru Fintiri, has described the judgment of the Federal High Court voiding the nomination of Asue Ighodalo as the party’s candidate in the Edo governorship poll as a temporary setback.
Fintiri, who is also the Governor of Adamawa State stated this yesterday at a meeting of the campaign council, held at the PDP National Secretariat, in Abuja, stressing that there is no stopping the opposition party in the Edo governorship contest.
Ighodalo’s nomination as PDP candidate in the September Edo governorship election has been trailed by litigations by aggrieved members of the opposition party.
Last week, a Federal High Court reportedly nullified the PDP governorship primary that produced Ighodalo as the party’s candidate.
This is as Ighodalo said he knows the September 21 gubernatorial contest was not going to an easy, owing to the many distractions.
The Adamawa governor, while urging PDP stakeholders to brace up for the Edo governorship election, expressed confidence that the Federal High Court judgement will not stand.
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He said: “Yes, there is a little setback. Temporarily. God will see us through it. I am referring to the Court judgment. Anybody who peruses and looks through the entire process will know that it is a child’s play. This is what will not stand in the court of law. Particularly, we will be approaching the Court of Appeal. And that shouldn’t deter us. We will put more commitment. More work than we have not intended to do earlier. So that we will put our detractors into shame.”
Ighodalo, while speaking at the meeting, further said: “I know it is not going to be easy. It is going to be very difficult. We are already seeing the signs. It is going to be a difficult election, not on the issues, but on the distractions which sometimes are more difficult to deal with than issues.”
Regardless, Ighodalo added: “But I know we have leaders who are more than capable to set the ball rolling and to lift us higher than some others. So, I am truly grateful.
“On behalf, of my deputy and myself, what I want to say is this: we will give this everything we have. We will give it our 150 per cent commitment. We will ensure that we will make this our party extremely proud to have presented us as their candidates. And by the grace of God, when we get into the Government House, we will work so hard that our party will be more than proud that we were the standard bearers, and we are setting the trail.
On his part, the PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, said a total of eight cases were instituted against the nomination of Ighodalo as candidate, in the September 21, Edo governorship poll.
However, Ajibade said seven of the cases have been disposed and expressed hopes the remaining case would also be resolved in favour of the governorship hopeful.
Ajibade, while reacting to the judgment of Federal High Court on the PDP governorship primary, said: ‘By the time we get to the Appeal Court we will put our record in proper perspective. This is not the first time we are having this; during the last election we had similar issue that moved from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court. Members of the campaign council do not be discouraged by what you hear. You can pick up the CTC and read and know that our candidate is unshakable.”
