Be fair to all, PDP stakeholders tell screening committee

Bayelsa State stakeholders at the weekend appealed to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to adopt the principle of fairness in screening aspirants for the governorship primaries of the party scheduled for September 3.

The stakeholders under the auspices of the PDP Action Group (PAG) said the party must thread with decorum and absolute fairness in the entire process of conducting standardized primaries that would have universal acceptance.

The group in a statement in Yenagoa by its President, Preye Ekeigha, said any plot to abandon fairness would send wrong signal and cause chaos capable of negatively affecting the party’s chances in the general election.

Ekeigha asked the party to avoid divisive actions realising that the aspirants for the internal poll were many and qualified in their own rights to govern Bayelsa

He said the party should not in any way undermine Governor Seriake Dickson in the entire process following his tremendous roles in sustaining the unity and successes of the party in the state noting that without the governor’s deftness and experience, the party would have been history in the state.

He reminded the party leadership that the PDP is an opposition party at the federal level and should shun any decision that could cause disunity among its members.

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Ekeigha said: “It is in this light that we admonish the screening committee to ensure due diligence but ensure that non is deliberately witch hunted or screened out to satisfy one personal interest at the detriment of our great Party.

“The committee and our great Party must note that our leader and Governor,  Henry Seriake Dickson has worked very hard to sustain the unity and success of our dear party, therefore such tremendous and great sacrifices must be appreciated and supported to sustain our victory and unity.

“While the committee has the prerogative to screen the candidates in line with our laws and conventions, we must be mindful of such decisions that will threaten our corporate existence and collective objective at all times. We cannot mortgage our political future to the opposing party.

“Our Party must understand that as we begin the process to having a free, fair and standardized primaries that will have universal acceptance, we must thread with decorum and absolute fairness in our conduct.

“This is bearing in mind that the number of candidates are many and they are all qualified in their own right to become governors of the state.

“Knowing that we are in opposition at the Federal level, we must ensure that actions and decisions that will not foster and deepen our unity be shunned at all cost.

“We wish the committee well in the discharge of their duties and hope that their eventual decisions will further endear the party to its members and the teeming Nigerian populace and the Bayelsa people to facilitate our expected victory at the November 16th, 2019 election”.