PDP BoT: Replace Ikimi With Edo Central Person – Edo PDP Integrity Group
By Simeon OSAJIE
Edo PDP Integrity Group, a socio-cultural group has condemned in strong terms the recent appointment into Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees from Edo State, describing it as a gross injustice and totally against the spirit of fairness.
In a statement issued and signed by the group Coordinator, Comrade Paul O. Kingsley on Friday, 17th September, 2021 in Benin City. Edo State, the group with members across the 18 local government areas of the state condemned the lopsided appointment and call on all well-meaning members of the party to intervene and allow space for fairness, justice and equity.
Recall that the BOT tenure expired on the 6th of September, 2021, but while the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who is the leader of the party in the state, approved the same members who had represented the state in the board since 2018, Chief Tom Ikimi and Chief Mike Ogiadomhen to go for a second term of another three years, we were duly informed that Chief Dan Orbih, the Party’s Vice Chairman South-South, ensured that the name of Chief Ikimi was removed and replaced by Chief Raymond Dokpesi.
“It will interest you to know that Chief Orbih, Ogiadomhen and Dokpesi are from one section of the state, Etsako.
“Even as we congratulate those who have been elevated to the PDP BOT, we must not shy away from the fact that the elevation is not only lopsided, it has defeated the ideals of a united Edo State that ought to be rooted in equity, justice and fairplay.
“The composition of the BOT coming from Edo State is one-sided as members are basically from the Etsako region.
“This does not conform to the format of using the Federal Character in all appointments in our heterogeneous state. We would have expected even spread to ensure loyalty thereby ensuring that there are no predominance of persons from a particular Senatorial District or from a particular ethnic group.
“The question we are asking and begging for answer is, if Chief Tom Ikimi must be removed, why not replace him by another member of the party from Edo Central where we have always won all our elections since 1999?
Meanwhile, we already have all the party members from Edo state at the National from the same Etsako, which is an axis in Edo North zone of the state, where the PDP has never won any elections since the last 14 years.
“We call on the National Leader of the Party, HE, Senator Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator David Mark, HE Governor Godwin Obaseki, our leader in Edo State, PDP governors forum, as led by Governor Aminu Tambuwal, PDP caucus in the National Assembly as led by Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and Rt. Hon. Ndidi Elumelu to urgently address this injustice to avoid the crisis that would arise from the only zone that has consistently given the party 100% in all elections since 1999. The group advised.
