2023: End Of Road, Heartbreak As PDP Disqualifies Influential Aspirant, Others, Names Revealed
- Valentine Ozigbo has been disqualified by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s screening committee
- Ozigbo who is running for the Anambra south senatorial seat was kicked out of the race for submitting his nomination form late
- The five-man screening committee also disqualified two other aspirants, Chuma Nzeribe and Obinna Uzor
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Anambra - The senatorial ambition of Valentine Ozigbo, the former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last Anambra election was cut short on Monday, May 2.
A PDP five-man screening panel chaired by Victor Okorie claimed that Ozigbo was disqualified to continue in the senatorial race for submitting his expression of interest and nomination forms after the deadline set by the party, The Cable reports.
A report from the panel said the former gubernatorial candidate told the panel that he was waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling to void the Anambra election so that he can emerge as governor.
Source: Facebook
The panel added that banking on this possibility, the PDP chieftain had concluded that there will be no need to submit the form if the apex court ruled in his favour.
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However, the court's verdict did not swing Ozigbo's way and by the time he submitted the form, it was late.
The panel's report read:
“Ozigbo told the committee that he was awaiting the Supreme Court Judgment in SC/CV/240/2022 and SC /CV/241/2022, that if the Supreme Court annuls the election he would become the governor.
“On that basis, he concluded that there would be no need to submit the Senatorial form within the specified time, on April 27, the Supreme Court upheld the contemplated litigation. Unfortunately, by the time he submitted the Form, he was already out of time."
The screening committee also disqualified two other aspirants, Chuma Nzeribe and Obinna Uzor, New Telegraph added.
Nzeribe was screened out of the race barred following the panel's premise that he had been declared wanted by court order, while Uzor was declared ineligible to run for the seat because he lied to the committee.
The committee revealed on Uzor:
“In column 12 of the nomination form, the question was asked if he had ever been tried by any court of law and he answered in the negative, suggesting that he had never been tried by any court of law,” the committee’s report said about Uzoh.
“We have in our possession, a charge before the Federal High Court Abuja, in charge No, FHC/ABJ/CR/78/2020, between FRN v. Eziafa Samuel Enwedo & Obinna Uzoh.
“The above shows that the aspirant deliberately failed to disclose the facts of this charge, his arraignment and trial. He was asked if he had been indicted by a Court or Tribunal. He answered in the negative, but the facts available show that he was admitted to bail on July 7 July 2020 by Hon. Justice O.E Abang.”
2023: PDP disqualifies 6 aspirants, names released, reasons given
Meanwhile, six senatorial aspirants in Kogi state were disqualified by the PDP's National Assembly screening committee among whom were Ubolo Itodo Okpanachi and Aminu Abubakar Suleiman.
For alleged acts of misconduct, Itodo Okpanachi and Aminu Abubakar Suleiman were disqualified from the Kogi East senatorial contest on Thursday, April 28.
The screening committee in Lokoja held that Suleiman was screened out because he is not a registered voter in the senatorial district, and thus cannot in the coming senatorial election.
Source: Legit.ng
