- Safiu Kehinde
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expelled its candidates for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Election over their withdrawal from the contest.
NPO Reported that the FCT Election is slated to hold on Saturday across the six Area Councils of the capital city.
Meanwhile, some PDP candidates were reported to have withdrawn and declared support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates following consultation with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP’s National Working Committee declared the candidates’ action as anti-democratic.
The party accused the Wike-backed faction of inducing the candidates to step down as part of their alleged plot to hold the party down for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid by 2027.
PDP declared the candidates expelled from the party while urging voters to go to the polls prepared to protect their votes and ensure that Presiding Officers transmit Form EC8A immediately after announcing the result at the polling unit.
The statement read; “The National Working Committee of the Party, PDP, has received with utter dismay the news of the withdrawal or stepping down of some Chairmanship Candidates of our Party from the forthcoming Abuja Local Council elections.
“This action is anti-democratic in every sense and is hereby totally condemned by the Party.
“Democracy thrives on healthy electoral contests, not forced or induced melodramatic consensus, as currently witnessed in the build-up to the FCT local council elections.
“As sad as this development is, it is a pointer to the type of voodoo democracy promoted by those parading as leaders of the PDP, whose only interest is to ‘hold’ the party for the President.
“This is exactly what they intended to do to Nigerians, when close to the Presidential elections, they can compel, induce or cajole all the other candidates to step down or withdraw for the President to have a smooth sail back to Aso Rock Villa, despite the abysmal performance of his administration.
“It was for ignoble, reckless and shameless acts like these that we excommunicated them from our party, in order to rebuild a strong opposition party, prepared for a struggle to return to power by 2027.
“Furthermore, voters should go to the polls prepared to protect their votes and ensure that Presiding Officers transmit Form EC8A immediately after announcing the result at the polling unit.”