2023: Obaseki’s Group Floors Orbih’s PDP Faction At Supreme Court

2023: Obaseki’s Group Floors Orbih’s PDP Faction At Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has declared candidates who emerged from the primaries conducted by the Governor Godwin Obaseki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State as validly elected candidates in the forth­coming general elections.

Consequently, the apex court has set aside the judgment of the Appeal Court, which was in favour of candidates belonging to the Legacy Group of the PDP in Edo State led by the Nation­al Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih.

By the decision of the Su­preme Court, candidates who emerged from the ward to na­tional primaries conducted by the Obaseki faction of the Edo PDP will be fielded for elective positions.

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Wednesday’s judgment, which was delivered by Justice Centus Nweze, has brought an end to the protracted legal feud over which of the two factions is in control of the state chapter of the party.

The battle for the soul of PDP in Edo State between Obaseki and Orbih assumed another dimension when the two factions presented two different list of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following parallel primaries conducted by the two groups.

No Victor, No Vanquished, Let’s Unite To Rescue Nigeria, Says Obaseki

Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki has reacted to the Supreme Court verdict on Edo PDP crisis, describing the ruling as “no victor, no vanquished” and called on all party members and Edo peo­ple to unite with the party and government to rescue Nigeria.

Obaseki, in a statement said, “The ruling of the Supreme Court today, finally puts to rest the long-drawn legal tussle over the candidates that will fly the flag of our great party, the Peo­ples Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State, in the general elec­tion on the 25th of February and 11th of March 2023.

“As the leader of the party in the state, I implore all members to consider this development as the end of all strife within the Edo PDP and to note that this is a victory for all members.

Our resolve now is to win the forthcoming general elections as this experience has made us stronger and better prepared to clinch victory.

“This disagreement which has now been amicably re­solved attests to the maturity of actors who as law-abiding party members have subjected themselves to and accepted the verdict of the courts.

“As there are no victors or vanquished in this issue, I want to call on all members of our party to come together to speak with one voice against the real opponents since our party is big enough to accommodate our variegated interests.

“The ongoing crisis in our nation which has been choreographed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) is subjecting Nigerians to per­haps the most tortuous living conditions in our history since the Civil War between 1967 and 1970. Our efforts must now be directed to removing the APC from power and restoring our blessed country.

“I, therefore, call on all our members in Edo State to stand up and be counted among the brave party men and women who stood to be counted in the execution of this all-important task to rescue Nigeria and pull it back from the precipice”.