Nine aggrieved aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the February 22, 2024, governorship primary in Edo State have threatened to institute legal action against the party if their grievances are not addressed.

Gatekeeper reports that the nine aspirants boycotted the ward congress held on February 4 and the local delegates congress held yesterday, February 10, across 192 wards and 17 local government areas of the state.

The congress was not held in Etsako Central Local Government Area, where the exercise was cancelled due to the alleged kidnapping of electoral officials while on their way to the local government for the ward delegates congress.

Gatekeeper recalls that the nine aggrieved governorship aspirants had petitioned the appeal panel set up by the party over the composition of the party’s officials appointed to conduct the ward delegates congress in the state.

The aggrieved governorship aspirants are Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Anselm Ojezua, Felix Akhabue, Martin Uhomoibhi, Hajia Hadizat Umoru, Omosede Igbinedion, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, and Arthur Esene.

Speaking for the aggrieved aspirants, in an interview, Aslem Ojezua said they boycotted the local government congress because it was the products from the ward congress that were used to conduct the congress.

Ojezua noted that they had approached the appeal panel set up by the national leadership of the party to right the wrong perpetrated by Enugu State’s Governor Peter Mbah-led Congress Electoral Committee.

According to him, if you build on a failed foundation, the result will still be faulty in the end.

“We will follow the party machinery, and if they persist in what they are doing we will continue to remind them about the danger involved in that level of arrogance and recklessness.

“We will take whatever steps available to us but at the moment we have an internal dispute resolution mechanism of the party. We are taking advantage of that, even though the party has not responded, but we will do our bit.

“If at the end the party didn’t listen to us, we will take any option available to us. It is when we exhaust all this that we can take legal action to protect our rights,” he said.

He appealed to their supporters and party members to remain calm, assuring that at the appropriate time, they should know who to hold responsible for the party’s misfortune in Edo State.