A group called the Concerned Citizens of Obubra Local Government in Cross River State has petitioned the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and other party organs to investigate alleged fake credentials presented by the PDP candidate for the Obubra/Etung Federal House of Representatives, Friday Okpechi. The request appears in a statement titled “Request for the immediate resignation of Mr. Friday Gabriel Okpechi as PDP candidate in the Obubra/Etung Federal House of Representatives election,” which was made available to the press on Thursday.
The group’s leader, James Abeng, addressed the letter to Ayu and signed it with ten executive committee members. He asked Okpechi to resign, warning that the party could risk having no representation in the election if he remains the candidate. Abeng noted that Okpechi is currently on trial before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Obubra for possessing and using a forged First School Leaving Certificate—one of the documents he submitted for clearance to contest the party primaries, which he subsequently won.
The statement reads, in part: “We have chosen to make our letter public for your urgent attention. Our collective objective is to warn you and the party of the impending danger and doom our great party will face in the coming general elections if Mr. Friday Okpechi is allowed to represent the party in the election slated for February 25, 2023. Okpechi, during his clearance for the party primaries held on May 23, 2022, allegedly presented forged documents and also allegedly lied on oath. These allegations, if proven true, infringe the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and, if not duly investigated, may cost our party the seat for the Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency in the upcoming election.”
Another group member, Florence Okpechi, added, “We have worked too hard to lose out at this point and therefore urge you to intervene immediately and ensure that a solution permissible under the new Electoral Act is provided; otherwise, our people would have lost out even before a ballot is cast.”
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