The state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has been asked to resign by some leaders of the party over his alleged preference for an Edo Central candidate for the 2024 governorship election.
The leaders of PDP , who spoke on Friday, a day after the party released its timetable for the election, accused Aziegbemi of bias and betrayal, comparing him to the former national chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, who openly praised former Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal, for stepping down for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in 2019.
A viral video showed Aziegbemi addressing a crowd of PDP supporters, saying that they should follow the governor’s lead and ensure that the next governor of the state is from Edo Central, one of the three senatorial districts in the state.
Mr. Martins Osakue, who spoke on behalf of the party leaders in Oredo local government area, said that Aziegbemi had abandoned his role as a neutral arbiter and had sided with a faction of the party. He claimed that Aziegbemi had a hidden agenda to undermine those who brought him to power, and that he was responsible for the crisis in the party.
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Osakue said that the party leaders (PDP) in Oredo wanted a free and fair primary election, but Aziegbemi had compromised his position by declaring his support for a particular zone. He called on Aziegbemi to resign honorably, or face the wrath of the national working committee (NWC) of the party. He suggested that the deputy chairman of the state party should take over the affairs of the party in the interim.
However, Aziegbemi dismissed the call for his resignation as a manifestation of democracy in action. He said that he was only expressing his personal wish that the next governor would come from Edo Central, based on the principles of fairness, equity and justice. He said that the final decision would be made by the delegates of the party, who would vote for the best candidate.