No more impunity, imposition in PDP, says Secondus

• Aspirants fault result of Osun primaries
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus, has disclosed an end to impunity and imposition in the party.

Secondus, who spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said the PDP is now a “re-branded, vibrant and repositioned” party.

He said: “We are now the party of rule of law, no more imposition and impunity, as we are now ready to take over power from the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

Secondus led the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to a dialogue with the Ladi Adebutu’s faction of the party in the state.

Addressing party members, he urged Nigerians to join the PDP to ‘rescue’ the nation, alleging that the party is “aware that the APC government was doing everything to retain power.

“The country is going through quite a lot, the entire nation is waiting for us, and we will not disappoint them. Only the PDP can give attention to national unity,” he said.

Alleging that the Federal Government is intimidating the PDP, Secondus said: “What they are doing today is not new, as it had happened before, but we cannot be intimidated.”

Adebutu, who organised the meeting, said in his address that the party believes in the unity of Nigeria, even as he canvassed restructuring.

He assured the PDP leadership that he and his supporters would support whoever emerges as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election.

Meanwhile, seven governorship aspirants who contested in the PDP primaries in Osun State have faulted the results.

The aspirants are senators Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, Felix Ogunwale Adejare Bello, Dr. Ayoade Adewopo, Prof. Adeoye Durotoye, Jide Adeniji, and Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, who allegedly was the runner up.

They said Ogunbiyi, and not Ademola Adeleke, who the party declared, won the poll.

They said: “Contrary to the promise made by the new leadership of our party, the reign of impunity appears to have continued unabated with the way and manner the primaries were conducted.

“The exercise was regrettably marred by gross violations of the Electoral Guidelines issued by the National Working Committee, as well as outright manipulation of the results in favour of Adeleke.”

The contestants urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP to rescind its decision of forwarding Adeleke’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as the party’s standard-bearer.

Akinlabi, who read the text of the press conference on behalf of others, urged the national leadership of the party to rescind its decision on Adeleke.