Governorship Aspirant Withdraws from PDP Primaries Alleging Unfair Process

Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced his withdrawal from participating in the party’s governorship primaries scheduled for February 22, 2024.

Ogbeide-Ihama, the immediate past lawmaker for the Oredo Federal Constituency, cited an unjust process skewed to favor a particular aspirant as the reason for his withdrawal.

He was also one of the nine aggrieved aspirants who protested against the conduct of the party’s ward delegates congress by the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah.

In a letter dated February 12, 2024, addressed to the National Secretary of the party, Senator Sam Anyanwu, Ihama expressed disappointment in the delegate’s congress appeal panel set up by the national working committee for failing to address petitions, which he believed compromised the integrity of the primary process.

In his statement, Ogbeide-Ihama highlighted the corruption of the process by irregularities in the ward congress organized by the party in Edo State.

He and eight other aspirants had voiced their dissatisfaction with the transparency of the process and the conduct of the overseeing committee, alleging that it had been unfairly skewed to favor a specific aspirant.

Despite efforts to address these concerns through established channels, including appeal panels, the National Working Committee’s alleged failure to rectify the issues raised led to Ogbeide-Ihama’s loss of confidence in the process.

Concluding his statement, Ogbeide-Ihama affirmed his commitment to the party and promised to communicate his subsequent actions to his supporters when necessary.