Edo PDP youths threaten showdown over fresh guber primary

• KOWA party promises moral realignment in polity
• My suspension laughable, says Iduoriyekemwen

As the caretaker leadership of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Ali Modu Sheriff faction holds a fresh governorship primary today, the party’s state youth wing has moved against the exercise, warning that any attempt to conduct a parallel primary contrary to that of June 20 conducted under the leadership of the Ahmed Makarfi-led national caretaker committee would be resisted.

They, consequently, advised Sheriff to desist from parading himself as the party’s national chairman.The youths, in a statement yesterday by their leader, Thaddeus Irabor in Benin City, condemned in strong terms the activities of the factional chairman, saying the party has vowed to engage Sheriff today should he make good his promise of presenting a fresh candidate besides Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the party’s flagbearer for the September 10 gubernatorial poll in the state.

Meanwhile, a relatively unknown party participating in the contest for the first time in state, KOWA, yesterday said moral realignment is the new thing the party was bringing to bear on the polity.

State party chairman, Otasowie Omigie told The Guardian that no fewer than 400 delegates would participate in its primary scheduled for tomorrow in Benin City, adding it was only one aspirant that had fulfilled the conditions for participation.

“So far, we have met all the conditions of INEC to conduct a successful primary come Thursday (tomorrow). “What we are doing now is to basically bring orderliness into politics in Edo and we believe that the people should be educated to begin to show interest in politics.

“But very shortly, we will be ready to compete with the already established political parties in the state in a bid wrestle power from them,” he stated.Also yesterday, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen described his purported suspension by the Dan Orbih faction as laughable.

“How can an illegal body suspend me. The Orbih-led PDP has been dissolved by the national leadership of the party. So how can such a dissolved body suspend me? He queried.

“Orbih, Ize-Iyamu and all of them met me in PDP. I have been in the PDP since the creation of the party while they have all frolicked from APP to PDP, from PDP to APC then from APC they are now back to PDP to rip where they did not sow.“I am a landlord in PDP and a tenant cannot suspend a landlord. They are jokers as far as I am concerned,” Iduoriyekemwen added.