From Idu Jude, Abuja
Stephen Abraham Ajiya, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and candidate for North Central Zonal Vice Chairman, warned that the party faces extinction due to leaders succumbing to pressure from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking after walking out of the zonal election in Jos, Plateau State, on Saturday, May 24, Ajiya alleged manipulation and financial inducement by the PDP caucus, comprising serving and former governors, senators, and National Executive Committee (NEC) members.
“I did walk out of the process when I discovered that the name of a particular candidate was printed on a piece of paper and handed to voters queuing to cast their votes, and when I made my voice heard, I left the venue,” Ajiya said.
He claimed Senator Abba Moro approached him with an offer before the election, which he rejected, suspecting a trap. “I knew that they may have plotted secret cameras here and there to trap me. Even the money they promised may not have been given to me while my name had gone through social media,” he added.
Ajiya accused party leaders, including Senator Bukola Saraki, of undermining the PDP for the APC’s benefit ahead of 2027. “While I was walking away, I heard Senator Saraki calling me, but I couldn’t imagine such a man trying to talk to me while the election was ongoing, while he refused to be seen during my campaign,” he said.
He further alleged that some leaders were acting as “stooges” for financial gain, stating, “Those who are of the same age as my father are in Jos collecting bundles of money just to make Nyesom Wike succeed for the benefit of the APC 2027 elections.”
He attributed the PDP’s vulnerability to a lack of ideology, warning, “What I saw in Jos has signified the end of PDP as a serious political party in Nigeria.”