PDP Supporters in Wild Jubilation over INEC’s Decision to Hold Election

By Adibe Emenyonu

Supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) went into wild jubilation on Thursday following an assurance by the State chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, that INEC has said it would go ahead to conduct Edo state governorship election this Saturday, September 10, as earlier scheduled.

At a meeting organised by the party in Benin City,  Chairman of Edo PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, said the party was shocked and utterly disappointed  by what he termed recent attempts by some persons to use the security apparatus of government to initiate actions that would have culminated in a sudden and unwarranted postponement of the Edo election.

He wondered how a state that hosted President Muhammadu Buhari during the APC rally in Benin City without any problem suddenly became unsafe,  adding that should that be the case, the security operatives under normal circumstances would have advised the president not to come to Edo state.

“Mr. President not only visited the stadium for the rally, he also visited other places in the state safely”, Orbih declared.

According to him, “We the Edo state PDP participated fully in the stakeholders’ meeting and fully endorsed the proceedings as did all the 18 other participating political parties.

“We are therefore at a loss as to how security operatives in faraway Abuja could turn around to advise  INEC to consider postponement of the governorship election in Edo state slated for September 10, 2016 at the same time that the leader of the security operatives had assured of peace before, during and after the election and affirmed their readiness and preparedness to do so”.

Against this premise, therefore, Orbih accused the state government of orchestrating the shift of the election in connivance with certain elements because he has seen that APC has lost the election.

Orbih further alleged that the PDP has uncovered a proposal made by some people to the INEC to change Electoral Officers (EO) already trained and mobilised for the election, adding that the party was already in possession of the names of the Electoral Officers and that any attempt to change them will be resisted by the PDP.