The Peoples Democratic Party’s five-member Anambra State Ward Congress panel, chaired by Jibrin Ahmed, was held hostage by the party’s candidates and stakeholders on Sunday due to its failure to provide the original results sheets.
When the panel members claimed they left the original results sheets in their hotel room, the scene almost devolved into a free-for-all inside the party’s Secretariat at Udoka Estate.
The panel members had told aspirants for the National Assembly elections and others to gather at the party’s headquarters for a briefing before the ward congress, but the turmoil began when they provided photocopies of the results sheets.
The development did not go down well with the stakeholders, who insisted that they must bring the original results sheets, adding that this had been the style of the party.
They accused the panel members of trying to run away to Abuja to rewrite and input the names of people of their choice.
But the Chairman of the Congress Committee, Jibrin Ahmed, cited security reasons as the reason they did not come with the original results sheets, which was aggressively resisted by the stakeholders.
The governorship candidate of the PDP during the November 6 election, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, appealed to members for calm, offering his personal security and vehicles to take the chairman to his hotel room to bring the original results sheets.
However, Ahmed declined the offer, insisting that he must go alone.
The panel team and the party stakeholders, including: Tony Nwoye, Lylda Ikpeazu, Noble Igwe, Ndubuisi Nwobu, Romanus Obi, and other stakeholders, were at the party’s secretariat in Udoka Housing Estate, Awka.
Meanwhile, the party thereafter, announced the suspension of the state congress.
The suspension was due to the panel member’s inability to provide the original copies of the results sheets for the the exercise.
The exercise was earlier scheduled to be held on Saturday.
The panel chairman, Jubril Ahmad, who read the letter of the suspension/apology before the aggrieved members, said a new date for the congress would be communicated as soon as it was decided by the national leadership.
Ahmad added that the suspension was also as a result of the insecurity in the state.
He assured the supporters that the panel under his watch stood for transparency and accountability process.
“The PDP regrets the inconveniences the announced suspension of the Anambra State PDP Congress may have caused,” he said.
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