Edo PDP warns Alimodu Sheriff over interference in primary election.

Ali Modu Sheriff

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has warned a former chairman of the party, Modu Sheriff,   to steer clear of the activities of the party in the state ahead of the September 10 governorship election.

The embattled former national chairman had on Tuesday declared the June 20 governorship primary election of the PDP as illegal.

Sheriff also announced a new date for a fresh congress for the party.

But the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, told journalists in Benin that the Edo chapter had no business in the crisis at the national level of the party.

Orbih described the primary, where Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu emerged as the party’s candidate, as successful and devoid of rancour.

The PDP chieftain noted that Edo did not need an “external investor” and would not tolerate any form of “northern irredentism”.

”In the interest of our people and our party, he (Sheriff) should not allow whatever differences he has with Abuja to come to Edo State. We are determined, right here in Edo State, to go by the law,” he said.

Orbih added, “Let us not mix the Abuja politics with Edo State politics. I am advising his group to stay away from what we are doing here because we are at peace with ourselves, and we are satisfied with the efforts that we are putting in place to ensure that Edo State is rescued from the hands of external investors.

“We will not tolerate Sheriff playing the role of an external investor. Edo State belongs to Edo people, and we will not, in any form, tolerate those who want to perpetrate northern political irredentism,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has raised an alarm over the alleged plan by the PDP to recruit thugs from boundary communities in Delta State to disrupt the September 10 governorship election.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Kassim Afegbua, in a statement on Wednesday, alleged that the opposition, in connivance with the Delta State Government, had mapped out plans to recruit the thugs, who would pose as eligible voters during the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration exercise.

According to the statement, no fewer than 40 political thugs had been allegedly deployed to the border communities with the intention to register them as voters to enable them to unleash violence during the election.

The Edo State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chris Nehikhare, debunked the allegations.