Don’t allow PDP field candidates in Cross River, ANPP tells INEC

THE governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Cross River State, Mr. Iheke Awa Solomon, has said that it would be an injustice on other political parties if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is allowed to field any candidate in the April polls.

Speaking to newsmen in Calabar, the state capital, Solomon said, “If INEC would allow PDP to field any candidate in this election, then that is the greatest injustice INEC would have done to our people, to other parties that have obeyed the law and indeed, injustice that would bring about the collapse of the system. We would not allow it. We would not allow the Cross River Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mike Igini, to compromise this process and we would not allow PDP to intimidate Mike Igini and INEC to surrender to their whims and caprices.”

“INEC must remain an umpire, an arbitrator and a judge. The law must be evenly applied to all parties, no matter whether you are the ruling party or the government party.

“Our party was subjected to the same legal process of congresses. In fact, the congresses that our party purportedly organised were cancelled by Mike Igini and ordered us to organise fresh congresses. As a law abiding political organisation, in spite of all the losses we had incurred, we went back and did as was directed by that institution.

“We got our delegates at the ward and local government level to nominate our candidates. INEC officials, the SSS and other security agencies supervised and partook in the conduct of all these processes that gave them the legitimacy that the law requires.”

Nicholas Kalu, Calabar