Oshiomhole: PDP Probe Of Members On NASS Election Is Illegal

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress [APC], Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has condemned the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for setting up a committee to find out how its members voted in the National Assembly election that produced its principal officers.

The election results showed that some PDP members voted for APC candidates in the election against party instructions.

The committee headed by a former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, is to establish the level of culpability of party members in the recently-held election.

Speaking, Comrade Oshiomhole said that PDP is indulging on illegality by embarkinging on such fact-finding.

Oshiomhole, during a visit by party stalwarts, commended party members for voting for their candidates despite the secret ballot system used for the election.

He said, “I was particularly excited when the clerk in breach of a court order insisted on conducting secret ballot and our party members in the two chambers proved their complete loyalty.

“The manner they did, such that the PDP that was calling for secret ballot, because they didn’t want people to know how people voted, are now conducting an inquiry into who voted for who among them.

“This is a complete violation of the essence of secret ballot.

“The idea of secret ballot is that nobody should know who voted for who. Now,  the PDP is going down in history as a party that seeks to investigate how people voted in the secret ballot.

“That is a gross violation of the most basic principles of democracy regarding  secret ballot.”

Oshiomhole also spoke on the choice of the member representing Tudunwada/Doguwa federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, for the Majority Leader of the House.

He said the choice was premised on the fact that Kano contributed the highest votes to  President Muhammadu Buhari’s election.

He said  Doguwa was a vocal, eloquent and reliable member of the party, noting:

“This is a fact that nobody can wish away, it cannot be over-emphasised because politics is a game of number.”

It could be recalled that APC candidates—Ahmed Lawan, Ovie Omo-Agege, Femi Gbajabiamila and Ahmed Wase emerged as Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy Speaker respectively.