EDO PDP SHOULD TELL OBASEKI AND EDSIEC TO GO TO HELL

*EDO PDP SHOULD TELL OBASEKI AND EDSIEC TO GO TO HELL*

Only people who are yet to come to terms with reality about the sadistic and destructive tendencies of Governor Godwin Obaseki will be surprised at his latest onslaught against the people of Edo State and the PDP.  

As expected , the governor sent a request to his hypnotized House of Assembly to amend the local government act and approve his list of hatchet hungry  team as members of the electoral commission. Not disappointing the expectations of the people, the assembly passed the amendment and confirmed the list in a record 45 mins.

The commission members were sworn in on Wednesday 23rd March and on Thursday 24th, they released an election time table obviously prepared by the governor and handed over to them. It is disheartening to note that the commission is headed by a judge. One does not need to research to know what atrocities this judge must have committed on the bench. This is sad.

Looking at the time frame set out for the activities, one cannot but wonder if Governor Godwin Obaseki is for real. Though governors have made a mess of the local government elections, this one is in a class of his own. Never in the history of shammed elections have we witnessed such open rape of an electoral process. There is no doubt that Governor Godwin Obaseki does not intend to have any semblance of an election and he is not hiding his intentions. How can a man who took over one year to select his cabinet suddenly want to conduct Council polls within 3 weeks?.

What the governor and his cotravellers fail to understand is the fact that candidates for elections must be sponsored by political parties. The parties, like the PDP which he belongs, have their constitutions that guide the norminations of candidates.

The PDP Constitution, provides expressly how candidates for Council chairmanship should emerge. There must be guidelines issued by the NEC of the party. The delegates to the primaries are specified. The 3-Adhoc delegates per ward must be elected in special ward congresses to be called by the party. Anything short of these steps will be contrary to the Constitution of the party and therefore a nullity. It is obvious that these steps cannot be taken and adhered to within the timeframe published by the governor for the elections.

There is no doubting the fact that the governor did not confer with his party, the PDP before embarking on this unholy journey. Yet he is quick to cry that the party has not integrated his followers.

The Edo State PDP should not endorse this open rape on our democracy by giving the candidates of Governor Godwin Obaseki a platform to contest. The PDP should communicate the governor his team that it will not take part in this dance of shame. Posterity will vindicate us. 

Just like the party has shunned his appointments, it should also tell him and his curupt EDSIEC to go to hell.

Amb. Tony Okonigene writes from Benin