The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State has suspended Jude Ezenwafor, its governorship candidate in the just-concluded 8 November governorship poll in the state.
The Chairperson of the PDP in the state, Chidi Chidebe, said the decision to suspend Mr Ezenwafor was taken at the end of the party’s State Executive Committee meeting in Awka on Tuesday.
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Mr Chidebe, who read out a communiqué released at the end of the meeting, said the suspension of the governorship candidate, which takes immediate effect, will last for a period of one month.
Reason for suspension
The PDP chairperson said the party was initially worried following Mr Ezenwafor’s failure to campaign in any ward, local government, or across the state up to the last date for campaigns.
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He alleged that the candidate connived
with candidates of other political parties, particularly the APC, to deliberately sabotage the chances of the PDP in the election.
Mr Chidebe also accused Mr Ezenwafor of extorting party faithful, including his running mate, adding that the PDP believes that the candidate fabricated his assassination story.
“These and numerous other acts of misconduct were among the major challenges the party in Anambra State had to endure throughout the electioneering period, following advice from respected leaders and elders of our party.
“The State Executive Committee, in our usual character of respect for constituted authorities, swallowed all his bitter pills, avoided confrontation, and patiently managed his conduct until the conclusion of the election,” he said.
“Ultimately, his actions during and after the election completely vindicated our earlier concerns.”
The PDP chairperson also said Mr Ezenwafor scored only one vote in his ward, Nnobi Ward 3, while his running mate polled 71 in his unit, 004-Otuocha Ward 1, as against 77 votes for the incumbent governor.
“This abysmal performance represents the worst result for PDP in any ward across the state and clearly exposes his lack of character, credibility, and commitment to both the party and the election,” he said of the candidate.
“In light of the above, and after due deliberation, the State Executive Committee has resolved that Mr Jude Ezenwafor is hereby suspended from PDP for a period of one month with immediate effect.
“That he be referred to the State Party Disciplinary Committee for further investigation and appropriate recommendations,” Mr Chidebe said.
The chairperson said the state PDP would formally notify the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) of the suspension and advise the NWC against granting Mr Ezenwafor or his collaborators any further access or recognition at the National Secretariat.
Connecting the dots
Mr Ezenwafor, barely 24 hours after the declaration of the results of the poll, had congratulated Governor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who won the election.
The PDP candidate described the governor’s victory as “a landmark.”
PREMIUM TIMES reports that when PDP members in Anambra State were meeting on Tuesday, Mr Ezenwafor preferred to visit Governor Soludo at the Government House in Awka.
At the Government House in Awka, the PDP candidate was heard assuring that, as the “PDP leader in the state,” he would partner with Mr Soludo to move Anambra State forward.
READ ALSO: Police officers lament unpaid allowances after Anambra election
He had accused state leadership of the PDP of betraying him and taking his party agents to work for another party.
Meanwhile, this newspaper earlier reported that the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie, said APGA’s Mr Soludo scored 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the APC, who polled 99,445.
The Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes, while his counterpart from the Labour Party, George Moghalu, came fourth with 10,576 votes.
The PDP candidate, Mr Ezenwafor, was the sixth, with 1401 votes.
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