The leaders of the GBENGA HASHIM Solidarity Movement (GHSM) in the State of Ondo have rejected the decision of the National Executive Committee of the Democratic Party (PDP) (NEC) of the peoples to locate its presidential ticket of 2027 to the south, describing it as “ridiculous, inademocratic and unacceptable.”
Leaving a meeting in Akure, the group condemned what it called “a deliberate attempt of some powerful raptors within the party that act as entrepreneurs sent to bury the PDP before the general elections of 2027”.
In a statement signed by its media and advertising director, HE. OPAKUNLE ONAPEMIPO, the group criticized the zoning agreement, insisting that it was a plot calculated to exclude credible northern candidates, particularly Dr. Gbenga Hashim.
“This decision is a deliberate constitutional violation aimed at imposing a weak candidate on our party. It is a clear strategy to exclude candidates from the northern extraction, especially to Dr. Gbenga Hashim, knowing completely well that he has created formidable structures in the states and networks of the suppressors in all noks and Niger That it can be purchased, above all, so you can buy, above all, so it cannot be bought, so you cannot buy it, and above all, you cannot buy above all, so you cannot buy, so you cannot buy it, so you cannot buy, so it is not known.
GHSM spokesman said the NEC PDP lacked legal powers to impose such restrictions.
He said: “The constitution of the PDP does not empower NEC for elective offices in the area to a particular region, and the Nigerian Constitution itself disapproves against any discrimination based on ethnic origin, creed, religion, sex or political opinion. What the NEC has done not only is unconstitutional, but also dangerous for the unity and survival of our party.”
Remembering the precedent of 1999, Opeapemipo said that despite the cancellation of the elections of June 12, 1993 and the death of his alleged winner, Chief Mko Abiola, the PDP did not appear his ticket to the south.
He explained: “In 1999, applicants from all over the country freely played: Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and many others. This was how PDP built credibility and confidence. Zoning is, in the best case, a matter of moral persuasion; it is never legally binding for any political or aspiring party.”
The movement warned that closing the door against applicants as Hashim could mean the fatality for the PDP in 2027.
The group said: “If this zoning decision is, not only will weaken our possibilities in the general elections, but it can also lead to the party not having a valid presidential candidate, due to the possible disqualification by the courts of competent jurisdiction,” the group warned.
When asking the party leaders to urgently reverse the decision, the group reaffirmed their loyalty to the presidential offer of Dr. Hashim.
“We make the NEC quickly reversed this anti -democratic decision to avoid the imminent legal actions. In the same line, we urge our members to remain calm, focused and resolved in their support to Dr. Gbenga Hashim in the 2027 presidential race,” the statement concluded.
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