As members of the Peoples Democratic Party continue to wait for modalities to organize the ward congress to elect the three-man delegate expected to vote and select candidates for Governorship and National Assembly elections ahead 2015, some groups of persons are seeking automatic chances to be included as delegates.
Among those said to be wangling to be included as automatic delegates are the various PDP ward chairmen embattled councilors of the various wards in the 27 LGAs of Imo State.
Trumpeta reliably gathered from the party secretariat in Owerri, Imo state that the ward chairmen using their various representatives approached the party leadership in the state led by Barrister Nnamdi Anyaehie to request for inclusion among the most-wanted three-man delegate list. Same applies to the councilors who were sacked and barred to enter the councils with their chairmen by the Okorocha government since he took over power in 2011 despite court order.
It was learnt that while the ward chairmen relied on their contributions to the growth of the party at the grassroots levels and claims as number one citizen of the party at the ward levels to be granted express approval to be delegates, the councilors considered their pitiable conditions having lost out since Okorocha came into power as yardstick to be used to hook them as automatic delegates.
Trumpeta further gathered that the state arm of the party received the requests but added that it was not the making of the party in the state to exclude them as automatic delegates. According to Anyaehie, their complaints have been received but will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for consideration.
It would be recalled that in the new guidelines for selection of party candidates for governorship and National Assembly elections, three delegates shall emerge from INEC recognized wards excluding the ward chairman and councilors as statutory delegates.
