A PDP member, Amb. Wilfred Bonse, has withdrawn from contesting the 2023 governorship election in Cross River, asking the party to refund the N21 million used to purchase forms.
Bonse in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, linked his demand to “unfair treatment” from the party to deny him participating in the forthcoming governorship primary in Cross River.
According to an official of the party, the fee for nomination and expression of interest forms are non refundable.
Bonse said that the party had refused to disqualify or clear him to contest in the forthcoming party’s primary election which was schedule for Wednesday.
“I am requesting the party to refund the sum of N21 million I paid for the expression of interest and nomination forms I bought.
“If I had, for instance, been given a fair chance to participate in the primary, and I lost, I will not have had an issue. But then, I am being stonewalled at every point.
“A Board of Trustees (BOT) member has given letter to PDP, urging them to reconsider my issue in order not for the party to lose governorship election in the state considering my pedigree.
“But it has fallen on deaf ears and the time is very close. As I speak, we have less than seven days to the primaries.
“The new Electoral Act provides for clearance to be done seven days to the primary and my name to be sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“So, my understanding of what is happening is not something I probably want to say on camera, but it is obvious that certain persons are seriously intimidated by my candidacy.
They are playing some underhand games to try to stall me from participating in the primary.
“But Cross River is bigger than any person. It is also bigger than any party. So we move,” he said.
He disclosed that he would be seeking his ambition on other more “commodious political party platform”.
Bonse added that he had also made his request known in a letter and submitted to the National Chairman, PDP, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, which was received, acknowledged at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.
In the letter which was sighted by NAN, said he was withdrawing to contest the election on the platform of another party, as all avenues to seek justice in PDP proved abortive in an obvious attempt to deny him participation in the primary.
“Having exhausted all avenues of consultation and appeal within the party without success, I am withdrawing my ambition to contest for gubernatorial election for Cross River State on the platform of PDP.
“I am hereby defecting from the PDP to another political party with my followers who are in their hundreds along with their followers by extension (NAN)