8 ESCAPE DEATH AT PARTY PRIMARIES IN ABIA

www.odogwublog.com reports that Eight (8) officials of the Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party escaped death by whiskers at the party's just concluded primaries held across the state to elect councillorship candidates as well as the three delegates required for the election of chairmanship candidates for the December 17 local council elections in that state.

The officials had come from Umuahia to conduct the said election and
had just finished distributing election materials at Okeikpe, council
headquarters of Ukwa West Local Government before driving out to
monitor the exercise in the fourteen electoral wards of the council
area.

The team which was led by the State Woman Leader of the party Mrs.
Stella Igbokwe after monitoring the first ward along the road to
Obehie, later drove to Obehie wards 1 and 2 Obehie Primary School
another centre for the primary election where the team encountered
problem.

On arrival there were two long lines as the party opted for an option
A4, but trouble began when the counting of the second line started as
those counted were seen running behind to be counted again.

The election officer after making several attempts finally took a
complete count which was lesser than the first line, shortly after he
entered the bus converting the party officials and asked to be driven
off.

But just as the driver was about moving out, youths of the area,
apparently from the second line besieged the the vehicle even as the
driver made several frantic efforts of manoeuvering to escape from the
field.

It was at this point that they started hitting the bus with others
making efforts to demobilize or deface it.  Before long, stones were
hauled towards the bus, until another group of boys emerged from
within the crowd to assist the driver make well his escape.

As the struggle lasted, some of the youth were shouting out to the
party officials to declare the result before leaving, while the
election officer remained adamant, holding on to his choice of not
doing just that.

In the process, the party woman leader sustained injury on her face,
while a journalist embedded in the team had injuries on his hand
before the driver was able to drive off from the venue.  As the driver
was racing out of the venue, a young man hung on the driver's side
struggling to snatch the steering from outside the bus.

As the struggle lasted, the vehicle swerved left and right along the
Obehie - Okeikpe road, endangering the lives of other road users while
others watched the scenario from a safer distance.  The young man
later fell off the moving bus and was saved a crush by inches before
the driver made well his escape.

However, most the youths pursued the bus with motorcycles along the
expressway towards the commercial city of Aba until the fleeing driver
ran into the safety hands of a police patrol team along the dual
carriageway.

"You are just lucky, if here were to be Ngwaiyiekwe, this bus would
have been burning with the people inside.  You are just lucky. Thank
your God". One of the pursuing youth said when they met the running
team at the police checkpoint.

The team were later taken back to Okeikpe when the transition
committee chairman of the council area arrived the checkpoint even as
the bus driver vehemently refused to go back with them, although the
chairman had promised of the safety of the team.

Meanwhile, the state party chairman, Chief Johnson Onuigbo had while
inaugurating the 7
members appeal panel committee for the primary election, said all
complaints and grievances arising from the primaries should
be channeled to members of the appeal
committee as enshrined in PDP
Guidelines.

Chief Onuigbo who commended PDP
members for their maturity during the
primaries said the party
has inaugurated the appeal panel
committee to look into
among other things the validity or otherwise of the petition/ protest,
recommend to the party appropriate remedy /remedies as well as to
conclude and submit report not later
than Friday October 2016.


He therefore charged members of the party in the State not to take
laws on into their hands as Dr. Ikpeazu led
administration in the state has put all machinery in place to ensure
December 17th LGAs poll is free, fair and transparent devoid of any
anchor or acrimony.