A former deputy governor and governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi, Mr Yomi Awoniyi has rejected the delegates list for the party’s primary election scheduled for Sunday.
Some other aspirants joined Awoniyi in rejecting the delegates list.
The aspirants made their position known at a news conference held in Lokoja on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that present at the media briefing were some leaders, stalwarts and party chairmen from the seven local government areas of Kogi west senatorial district.
Awoniyi told the news conference that the delegates list produced at the March 29 and April 8 ad-hoc and delegates’ congresses in the district had been manipulated to favour a particular aspirant.
“We are calling this meeting to address the great anomalies that have come to the fore regarding the PDP’s primary election slated for Sunday.
“With me here are photocopies of the authentic delegates list, which had been duly certified by INEC as the result of what transpired on March 29 at the PDP congress in Kogi.
“We have copies of the delegates list for the 21 local government areas and the entire 239 wards across the state supported by the state’s PDP executives,’’ he said
He emphasised that the congresses were witnessed by INEC, the police, the Department of State Services and other security agencies, after which INEC wrote a report as to how the congresses went.
Awoniyi, who was Director-General, Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council in Kogi, noted that the entire delegates list in Yagba West and Ijumu Local Government Areas had been replaced in favour of a particular aspirant.
He added that 31 names out of 45 names of delegates were removed and replaced in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area.
He said that a total of 158 legitimately-elected delegates had been replaced by strange people who did not participate in the congress.
“We, as members and governorship aspirants of the PDP will like to draw the attention of the world to this anomaly.
“It is trite to say that while the party sets up guidelines for due process and the process is adhered to; it is unreasonable to have the same party jeopardising the same process by importing strange names into the delegates list,’’ he said.
Awoniyi charged that there was a grand design to skew the list in favour of a particular aspirant, and other aspirants would not stand by as they had worked so hard for the party.